Demigod Files 2
by Project Phoenix Agent 003
Summary: Go beyond the stories with interviews and never before seen adventures featuring Jacob, Alex, and the rest of the gang. Based on the Rise of Urunos Trilogy
1. History Lesson

_**This is for anyone new who's just joining the series and is too lazy to read the other stories. If you've read the Prison of the Gods and up, or Sins of the Fathers and up, you can go ahead and skip this chapter.**_

_**On the other hand, it's an interesting way to summarize, so you might want to take a look. This takes place after Shame of Olympus but before Colors of War.**_

Cynthia Jones opened up to the next page of her Olympian History textbook. She had a big test coming up on the last few chapters of this book, and she was still just finishing reading about the story of Percy Jackson and his role in the Second Titan War.

That was the war he fought in, right? There were so many wars in this textbook it was hard to keep track of them all. It wasn't that her teacher, Mr. Riordan was bad or boring, she just didn't pay attention in class.

What mattered about Olympian History anyway? Just a bunch of stuff that had happened in the past. It was over, it had already happened. Why dwell on it? She felt the same way about her Mortal History class. "Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it." What the heck was that supposed to mean.

She sighed. Whether she liked it or not, she had a test coming up on this stuff, so she might as well read it. Where was she in this chapter? She scanned the page for where she'd left off, and continued reading.

_But in the final moments of the duel between Perseus Jackson and the Titan king Kronos, Annabeth Chase, a close friend of Perseus attacked and betrayed him. _

Cynthia had to stop there. Annabeth Chase had been in a lot of the more recent chapters of the textbook, and she'd been a constant companion to Perseus. Heck, the son of Poseidon had held up the sky for her.

_Perseus was saved by his father Poseidon, who sent him to Ogygia moments before the Titans took over the Earth. While he recovered with aid from Calypso, the Titans took over much of the world, destroyed the Mist, enslaved mortals, and hunted many of the remaining demigods._

_Perseus eventually returned to the world at large, and although weak and still mourning the loss of his friendship with Annabeth, he managed to regain his invulnerability and free several of the imprisoned Olympians from Tartarus._

_The return of Perseus, and his success in Tartarus, encouraged Annabeth Chase to seek redemption and she converted to the side of a rebellion spearheaded by Athena herself. Later, Annabeth convinced Luke Castellan, the Son of Hermes who'd hosted Kronos, to join the side of the gods as well._

_Evading capture by Kronos and receiving secret help from Chase along the way, Perseus freed the remaining gods and reached the secret lair of Athena's rebellion deep beneath the ocean. There, Perseus received to the powers of the Olympians who were too weak to combat Kronos._

_As the Army of Kronos descended on the rebellion's hideaway, Typhon's Prison, Perseus and Kronos dueled once more in a fierce rematch for the fate of the world. Eventually, the fight ended in victory for Jackson when he tried to sacrifice himself to protect Annabeth Chase and Luke Castellan. _

_A time of unrest that has yet to truly pass settled in as the mortal world and the world of Olympus mixed and tried to coexist._

Cynthia shook her head. That was the understatement of all time. The human/demigod prejudice was something akin to that of the white/black relation of a segregated America. Cynthia was inclined to go along with public opinion.

What good were demigods for really anyway? All they did was bring their wars, their monsters, and their rampant destruction to everything they touched. They weren't normal, and the textbooks proved it. What normal sixteen year old fought a Titan to the death? Demigods were thrill-seeking, power crazed outcasts, not selfless heroes who defended the masses.

Still, she kept reading.

_This unrest may have reached its peak during the Seven Half-Blood War, when humanity took up arms against Olympians on several fronts. The very nerve of this attack angered the gods to the point that they voted (albeit very dividedly) to exterminate all of humanity._

_The Seven Half-Bloods intervened however. They promised to stop the mortal forces from ever reaching Olympus. In exchange for this and assurance that there would be no future attacks, the Olympians held back their wrath. But only if the Half-Bloods could stop the mortals in time._

_In the ensuing series of conflicts, the Seven discovered the existence of The Pit, a group of Half-Bloods who had sided with Kronos during the war and had not converted back following the victory of Perseus Jackson._

_It was The Pit who'd lured the armies of humanity into conflict with Olympus, all part of a grand scheme to bring the gods crumbling down._

_The Seven were forced to wage war on two fronts: One against their ordinary human enemies and one against the new threat posed by the Pit. Despite their best efforts, the Seven did not come out unscathed._

_Both Annabeth Jackson and Luke Castellan perished in the conflict. Nico di Angelo, a son of Hades, and Thalia Grace, a Hunter of Artemis and a daughter of Zeus, were both heartbroken at the loss of their two friends, and in an attempt to comfort one another, spent the night in di Angelo's cabin._

_Perseus Jackson went missing, traveling the country as a lost wanderer for some time before finally returning to camp as a broken shell of a man._

That raised Cynthia's brow. Half-bloods fought humanity…in order to _save _humanity? The Seven Half-Blood War had been covered back when she was in elementary school, but it hadn't mentioned _that_. It brought to question what else she'd been taught had been smudged.

Too much of that war just seemed stupid. Mortal men attacking gods, gods threatening to eradicate every last human, demigods going against gods, mortals, and themselves? It all seemed like a big joke, a misunderstanding.

Something about reading this, the modern tales of modern demigods as opposed to those of Ancient Greece, it was stirring something inside Cynthia. Some feeling she'd never quite felt before. Something about their experiences just seemed…familiar. Come to think of it, all of these stories were pretty interesting. They'd be even more interesting if her damn dyslexia wasn't acting up again.

_Shortly after, Perseus fell victim to his own depression and was unable to best the Minotaur in combat, and he died, joining his wife Annabeth in Elysium._

_Not long after, Nico di Angelo was reunited with Thalia Grace and a daughter he and Thalia shared, Alexandria di Angelo. Thalia revealed the latest Great Prophecy to Nico and how he may be instrumental in its fulfillment. Nico agreed to go on a quest to resurrect both Perseus and Annabeth, so that they could raise their then unborn child._

_Complications ensued when the Pit intervened with intent to either kill or convert the young Alex. Nico and Thalia managed to save their daughter and transfer the power of Hades into Nico, allowing him to resurrect the Jacksons._

_Nine months later, Jacob L. Jackson, a demigod possessing the power of both Athena and Poseidon. _

Jacob Jackson. _That _was a name that came up a lot these days. One of the supreme commander of Allied Forces in the war against Urunos. A war, Cynthia heard, that was coming ever closer to her own home town. Some people had already evacuated.

She'd seen pictures of him on the news, footage of him commanding forty foot walls of water with force of will, read manuscripts of media interviews with him. He was a celebrity. No longer a hated outcast, but a demigod working with human forces to save the world. If only more of his kind could follow his example…

_When he turned ten, Jacob Jackson joined Alex di Angelo at Camp Half-Blood to train. Early on however, Jacob got his first quest when the Pit attacked the camp and kidnapped both his parents in a scheme to free the ancient god Urunos._

_Despite a sizeable group of half-bloods, Jacob and his party were unable to stop the much lagrer force of the Pit from freeing Urunos._

_Urunos went on a brief rampage until stopped by the Pit, who brought the god back to their base in an attempt to control him and use him as a weapon. This plan backfired, and Urunos began to take control of the Pit through possession. Once all the Pit was under his control, Urunos began a march of destruction against Camp Half-Blood, claiming millions of human lives who were kidnapped, possessed, and turned into Embers, the shock troops of Urunos._

_In a final stand, the campers, Hunters, gods, United States military, and even the Titan king were only just enough to push to back Urunos and weaken him. The war against Urunos continues to wage, with many countries falling to the overwhelming numbers of Urunos's army and joining his ranks._

_Australia, Asia, Africa, South America, all fell in Urunos's methodical butcher of civilization. Europe and North America are also largely engulfed, what remains of a resistance being pushed in a smaller and smaller area. No one knows who will emerge victorious in this final conflict._

_Why don't you join the fight Cynthia?_

Cynthia's eyes widened at the last sentence. Not only could she read it perfectly clear, but it had appeared on the page just a second ago. Almost as if the book was talking to her.

_It is._

Cynthia gasped and dropped the possessed book. "Okay, take it easy. This isn't happening…just need to take a break. I've been studying too hard…yeah that's it…"

Cynthia's friend Derik looked at her quizzically. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…I think so anyway," she replied.

But Cynthia's friend had stopped paying attention. Now he was looking at something above her head.

"What?" she asked. "What is it?"

She looked above her head just in time to see a strange, hologram like caduceus fade away. Magic books, holograms…was she a—

Her train of thought was interrupted as a blonde-haired boy, sporting full battle armor, crashed through the wall of the library where Cynthia and Derik had been studying. In his hand was a Celestial bronze sword with blue gems embedded in the tip and at the base of the blade.

Jacob Jackson stood up, dusted himself out, and leapt back out of the hole in the wall into the fray Cynthia could now clearly hear going on outside. Gunshots were going off like crazy, there were moans and wails and explosions, the sound of arrows whizzing through the air, people shouted and screaming and running.

"Oh…crap," Cynthia muttered, seeing all the chaos.

_**Now that that's out of the way, let's get on with the rest of these things.**_


	2. The Olympian Heist Part 1

_**Ahh. Demigod Files 2.0. A story of memories, further adventures, and of course the questioning of characters we all know and love. This is going to be a longer AN, so sit back… further…further… further... great, now you fell out of your chair. **_

_**Just so we're clear, the chapters in this are waaay longer, so I won't be updating daily on this one. Not reliably anyway. Sorry. **_

_**IMPORTANT MESSAGE! After this chapter, we take a break to interview Miz, Jacob's faithful talking sword. Soooo, if you have something you want to ask Miz, send in the question via PM or review and hope it gets selected.**_

_**Starting us off in this little escapade is a story that takes place before Shame of Olympus but after Sins of the Fathers. More attentive readers will recall mention of this incident in previous stories. Read and enjoy.**_

Jacob's POV

Last night had been, for lack of a better word, rough. Alex had talked about how she'd be getting a learner's permit next year, and how she should practice driving now. I had _tried _to convince her it was a bad idea but somehow, someway…we ended up speeding down the highway being chased by at least four cop cars.

I'm still not sure how we eventually lost them, but needless to say that night I'd gone to bed exhausted and maybe a little bit annoyed. But when I woke up the next morning, she wasn't in her bunk. She wasn't in any bunk.

All I found was her sheets a mess and her necklace on her pillow. Oh yeah, and knife stabbed in the middle of her bunk with a note tied to it. _That _was a bit of a dead giveaway something was very, very wrong.

I unraveled the note, not sure what to expect. It could be a prank, a death threat, or a prank death threat. Instead, it only had a one word message scrawled on it: _Bring_. That was literally it. _Bring_. What the heck did that mean?

I got dressed, my brain working to try and figure it out. It had to mean something, like a clue or maybe only a partial message. Bring…bring what? Thinking ruined my appetite, so when time came for sacrifices at breakfast, I just lazily dumped my entire plate into the fire and sat back down, lost in thought.

When I got back to my table though, in the spot where Alex always sat, a crudely carved map of Camp Half-Blood had been etched into the seat. And a circle was carved in right in between where the Zeus and Hades cabins would be. I looked around, checking to see if anyone else had noticed. No one had.

Alex was leaving me clues to something, that had to be it. But it still didn't explain why her necklace was still in the cabin, she never went anywhere without it. I excused myself from breakfast and training for the day. I'm sure Chiron wouldn't mind…as long as he didn't find out.

Remind me to blame Alex for being a bad influence once I find her.

Out by the Zeus and Hades cabins it was quiet. No one stayed in the Hades cabin to begin with, and Rick and Tony, the two sons of Zeus, were off at training, probably schooling new campers or settling a bet with the Ares kids.

I didn't find anything extremely prominent at first, so I looked around a little, and found really bad drawings in the dirt not too far away. One was a zigzag lightning bolt drawing, the second was a crudely drawn war helm, and the third looked like a disproportionate trident. But together with the message I'd gotten this morning, it sent a clear message. Someone wanted me to bring them the three most powerful weapons of all time.

Yeah, that would fly with the gods.

"Hey Jake," a sly voice greeted from behind me.

I spun around, and behind me was a misty Iris message, showing Evan Nakamura himself in his not so secret hideout in the desert. I pulled out Miz and clicked him to life, but Evan held up a hand, discouraging me from literally cutting the IM off.

"Ah, ah, ah…You wouldn't want me to leave before I deliver the message, would you Jake?" Evan taunted. I only glared in response.

"That's a good boy," Evan taunted. "You're a smart guy Jake, I think you know what I want."

"You should know there's no way I'd give any of those weapons to you ever," I stated. Evan just laughed.

"I suppose your right. Oh well, I tried. Say Jacob, before I go, have you seen Alex anywhere?" Evan asked, making my blood run cold. It all clicked. The knife, the note, the bad drawings of dangerous weapons, Alex missing…

"Where is she?" I demanded.

"Say hi Alex," Evan said cheerily, stepping aside to show me Alex herself, straining against chains on her wrist that had to be held by at least two people per chain. She saw the IM, saw me, and shouted. "Don't do it Jacob! I can get out of this on my— argh!"

She collapsed to the ground when something hit her upside the head. Evan stepped back into view, shaking his head.

"I told you morons to break her!" Evan yelled. "She doesn't sound broken to me!"

There were sounds of people grunting and getting hit, chains rattling, and people choking. But finally, Alex cried out in pain again and I saw her form crumple to the floor, panting hard. Someone hit her with a bat while she was down.

"That's better," Evan grumbled. "Anyway, I think you know how this works. We get the weapons, you get your friend. Sounds like a fair trade."

"I'll flay you alive," I promised. "That's if she doesn't first."

"I'm sure," Evan said dismissively. "One more thing before I go. Don't even bother storming our base, because she's not there. When you have what we want, make a burnt offering to Hecate, and we'll make the trade. Try to pull anything before, and she dies. With you watching."

Evan swiped his hand through the IM after that threat, and I was left dumbfounded. Evan wanted me to give him the three most powerful weapons ever built, and in exchange Alex got to go free. That's if Evan kept up his end of the bargain, which knowing him, he wouldn't.

An IM sprung up out of the air again. "Oh and, you've got four days," Evan added before the Iris Message promptly vanished.

I hate him. So much.

* * *

><p>"Hold up," Han said, raising a hand. "Let me see if I have all of this. Alex got kidnapped by the Pit, and now she's prisoner somewhere, we don't know where."<p>

"You've got it so far," I told him.

"And if we don't hand over the three most powerful items in existence to the most scary dude on this planet in _four days_, she dies. If we try to rescue her instead of going along with the deal, she dies. And if we can't even get the items to start with, she dies?"

"That about sums it up," I said.

"Okay, okay, I still getting it so far," Han said. "What I don't get…is why me and Will are here."'

"Yeah Jacob, you do know the Big Three aren't just going to give up their favorite toys, right?" Will asked me, looking worried. Why shouldn't he be? He was seventeen, an older camper with years of experience. I was eleven, I had one major quest and one year of experience under my belt, and I was suggesting a stupid plan. Stupid on paper anyway. "They're like immortal three year olds, they don't like to share."

"I know," I said. "That's why…we're going to steal them."

Han spit spit out the bits of tin can he'd been chewing and started choking. He repeatedly slammed a fist against his chest until he got his food to go down. Will stared at me with his jaw slackened and left eye twitching. When Han was done almost dying, he bleated out, "W-w-what?"

"Are you insane?" Will asked me. "Haven't you ever heard the story of the Lightning Thief? Picture how angry the gods got then times _three_. THREE TIMES THE HATE, Jacob. When they're done with you you'd be lucky to be a pile of ash."

"Now I really don't know why me and Will are here," Han added.

"I can't pull off something like this on my own," I admitted. "Will, you're the best thief at camp, I could use you. Han, c'mon buddy we've gone through worse…"

"No we haven't!" Han protested. "I want to _live_, thank you. Maybe find a nice girl, settle down, nice place in the woods maybe…I can't do that if I end up reincarnated as a flower! C'mon Jacob, use that blonde head of yours."

"You're going to hate hearing this," Will added, "but is one camper really worth the risk?"

"This one is," I stated. I needed to convince them, Will at least. "C'mon, you're a son of Hermes, god of thieves. This is the biggest theft of all time and you're saying you don't want in? And besides, I've got a plan that'll get Alex free and return the stuff we steal to their rightful owners, who may be very happy with us for returning said items so long as we don't get caught."

"So you're saying…" Will said, leaning back in his chair, "that we're going to steal the weapons without anyone finding out it was us, save Alex, return the weapons, and then reap the rewards?"

"That's about it," I said. "You in or not?"

Will thought it over. "Ah, what Hades. Life too short not to try and steal a little excitement out of it."

"Who do you guys think you are, Oceans 13?" Han asked. I gave him a look like, _Well, are you in or out?_

Han caved. "Fine. I'll come. Just let me tell my mom I love her one last time."

Will shook his head and turned back to me. "Well Grand Master Schemer, what's the plan that gets us out of this alive?"

I smiled, glad to have both of them aboard. As I laid out the plan and ignored Han's protests to all the dangerous parts (of which there were many) I could help but feel almost excited. Yes, my best friend's life was on the line. Yes, we were planning something very stupid and impulsive, but this was my next big quest. This was it. The thing was, we had to plan fast. Four days wasn't a lot of time, and today was already halfway over. The first step of our plan for world domination was finding a reasonable excuse for being gone for the next few days. Will came up with a pretty solid one, and tomorrow we were going to implement it. I hated not going today, but it had to be done.

Our little meeting in my cabin was called to an end when dinner began. Han and Will left, but before I followed them out I stopped to grab Alex's necklace off of her bunk and stuffed it into my pocket. She'd need it once we found her. That night at dinner, I made an offering to the Big Three, just to be on the safe side.

* * *

><p>"Gods damn it, he's heavy," Han whispered meekly. His goat legs were shaking as he, Will, and I all carried and bound and bagged (Yes, bagged, not gagged) Argus into an empty Pegasus stable .Argus was struggling pretty violently, but so far the three of us and the sack we'd stuffed him into had been able to handle it. His weight however, was another problem entirely. The multi-eyed monster was heavy, even with all three of us lifting.<p>

"Shut up, you're going to get us caught!" Will scolded as we heaved poor Argus into the stable and shut the door.

"Think anyone will find him?" Han asked, panting.

"Not before we're gone," I said. "Now c'mon, Chiron's expecting you."

Han sighed, and the three of us headed to the Big House. Han was due to head back into the mortal world for a while to look for more demigods to bring in to camp. Argus was going to be the one driving him out, but now…let's just say someone else would have to drive Han.

"You know, even if we only got caught doing this part we'd be in a ton of trouble," Han said.

"Will you stop worrying?" Will asked. "Worrying just makes it harder to lie."

"We're lying to a centaur, stealing from gods, and planning to walk away from it with pats on the back, and you want me not to worry?" Han asked. "Seriously, what is wrong with you two?"

"Too many Oceans movies?" Will joked. The two of us cracked up laughing, but Han just groaned, muttering, "We are so dead," all the way to the Big House. It would've been annoying if I didn't agree with him on several levels. This was stupid, dangerous, an liable to either get us killed, get Alex killed, or maybe even get the gods killed. But…I was doing this for the right reasons. Come to think of it, Alex definitely owes me after this.

* * *

><p>"He'll never go for it," Alex insisted as she pulled against the chains keeping her secured. She didn't know where she was, if she had she would have told Jacob. What was clear was that wherever she was didn't get much traffic. It was outdoors, the sky was dark and stormy yet she could pull no lightning from the angry clouds above. Her lip was busted from that last little fight with some of the Pit who'd been holding her chains. Now though, they were "safely" secured it the ground.<p>

"Sure he will," Evan said. "He'll come up with some grand scheme to get what he needs, save you, and walk away without ever giving me what I want. But we're ready for him. And Jacob and whatever little plan he comes up with doesn't stand a chance."

"Evan turned to the _four _children of Athena that Pit had at its disposal. "You're sure you can beat him?"

"One impulsive strategist against four children of Athena?" the lead one scoffed. "Please, there's nothing he can come up with that we can't prepare for."

Evan nodded. "Good, that's what I like to hear. But I'm warning you, do not under estimate him. The cost for a mistake like that…" Evan's mechanical hand clenched involuntarily in anger, "is a heavy price indeed."

Alex tried to make her hands a small as possible and slip out of her chains, but without success. Her Hands were too wide too slip through. There were other means of escape, but that would mean waiting for the right moment. For now, pulling and yanking would get her nowhere and she had no real means of escape. Let the Pit think she was a helpless prisoner then. It would be their last mistake.

* * *

><p>"If you're ready," Chiron was saying to Han, "you can have Argus drive you out right now. By the way, have any of you seen Argus lately? I can't seem to find him anywhere. It's not like him to simply just disappear like this…"<p>

"Nope haven't seen him," Han said hurriedly. "Nowhere, nada, no sign up him. Wonder where he went. Do you know where he went because I sure don't. Ha-ha-ha-ha…"

Will elbowed him in the ribs, thankfully shutting him up without Chiron noticing. Although, there was nothing we could do about Han's nervous behavior. He was sweating, his legs were shaking like Jell-o, and he was chewing his shirt like there wasn't a scrap of food for miles. There was a pretty good chance of him giving us away before we even got started. And I was _not _going to knock out Chiron, stuff him in a bag, and drag him into an empty stable. That had been hard enough with Argus, I didn't want to _think _what it would be like if we tried Chiron.

"I could drive him out," Will oh-so-casually volunteered. In contrast to Han, he was so much better at this it was scary. It must come with being a Hermes kid, because Will had it down to an art. "I mean, he's due out and with or without Argus somebody has to drive him. There a half-bloods who need rescuing."

"Hm, I suppose so…" Chiron mused.

"Can I go with them?" I asked then. "I mean, just to say goodbye to Han?"

Chiron thought over our little suggestion. "I don't see why not. But be careful. Monster attacks have increased recently, don't want any of you boys getting hurt."

"You and me both," Han gulped nervously.

"What was that?" Chiron asked.

"Nothing!" Han shouted instantly in response. He broke down into nervous laughter and his stance became wobbly. Whenever I got that way, Alex had a trick to straighten me out. I decided to try it on Han now. Yup…I slapped the poor satyr across the face.

He snapped to attention. " Ready to sir!"

Then he marched, yes, _marched _out the door, leaving me and Will staring dumb founded. Chiron was scratching his head as well. "There's something wrong with that goat," he murmured. "Take care you two, come back safe."

"We will," Will and I chorused as we walked off to catch up with Han. I couldn't believe that had actually worked. Yes, on paper it was supposed to work, but after seeing Han trying to lie…gods, the _Ares_ campers could have seen through that and their dumber than a sack of—

I felt something hit me in the back of the head, and I went down with the sound of laughter in my ears. Will helped me up with one hand, and in the other he held a javelin with a weighted boxing glove at the end of it. I resisted the urge to smack myself and turned around. Sure enough, not too far away was Roxanne, receiving high-fives from her siblings for the throw.

"What was that for?" I called out.

"You know!" was her terse response. I groaned and walked off. Stupid Ares campers…

"OW!"

* * *

><p>"Well, I think we pulled that off pretty well," Han said in a relaxed tone. He leaned back his seat and folded his arms behind my head. "You know, you guys had me a little worried for a second there, I thought you were going to crack under pressure or something. Good thing I was there, or Chiron might have suspected something."<p>

Will turned and glared at him. "Han, I'm not opposed to throwing you out of this van. Shut up."

Han held up his hands defensively. "Geez, calm down, just trying to keep us entertained. We've got a long ride ahead of us…right? I kinda forget the next part of the plan."

"You didn't forget Han," I told him. "We just didn't tell you."

"Wait, what?"

Will handed me his cell phone. "C'mon Jacob, try to reel in a big one. It won't look convincing if all the van gets is a couple dents and dings. Something that could punch a hole in it would be nice."

"Already on it," I assured him, going through the list of contacts and making call after call. "Hopefully he's back by now. Sure would be nice to remind him he still can't touch me."

"What? He who?" Han asked. I just held up a hand and pointed to the phone in my hands like, _Not now, I'm on the phone_. Han just panicked some more. "Wait, Jacob you might want to put that away, we don't want to attract any monsters."

"Yes we do," I corrected him with a smile.

"…oh."

Will smirked as we continued down the road. Han stared at the phone in my hands with anxiety, and he flinched every time the van hit a bump that shook it a little. Poor guy, this quest really had him on edge. Usually he wasn't this…paranoid. But for whatever reason, angering the gods scared the goat milk out of him. Er, not literally. That would be gross.

There was a light _thud_, and the van shook in response. It was quickly followed by another, and another, each one steadily growing more powerful. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my silver click pen. My thumb, middle finger, and index finger fiddled with the blue grip of the pen. For some reason, I was a little nervous about this. I guess I should be, especially if the monster we'd attracted was the one I'd been hoping for.

Sur enough, the car lurched to the side, two huge horns puncturing the side before yanking out. We went rolling off the side of the road, ending up on our side dazed and confused. Han was struggling against a jammed seat belt, I was suspended in my seat by mine, and Will was pinned back by and airbag that wouldn't deflate like mine had. I unbuckled, fell and managed to climb out the shattered windshield. A moment later Han cut off his seatbelt with a knife and followed. Last out, Will managed to get his sword out, puncturing the airbag and getting it out of the way. The three of us stood outside the officially trashed van, going over the damage.

Then we heard the thud of heavy footsteps behind us. All three of us spun, weapons draw. The Minotaur, in all his tighty-whitey glory, was only about twenty feet away from us, and he looked mad. Or hungry. Or maybe both, I can't tell through all of that ugly.

"Hey big guy," I taunted. "How've you been?"

He let out a snort and charged. Will dove left, I dove right, and poor Han was left staring wide-eyed at the beast charging straight for him. In a last ditch effort, he ducked. By some miracle, the Minotaur stomped right on over him without even touching Han. Han stood back up, jaw agape.

"Nice move Han!" Will shouted as he and I charged.

Will got there before I did, and he took a slash at the Minotaur. The bull man dodged and batted Will aside like nothing. Will went flying back, and I jumped onto the Minotaur's back. IT should have been an easy kill, just stab down and be done, but once the Minotaur started thrashing around I lost my grip on Miz and it tumbled away to the ground. So I was left clinging to his sweaty, meaty neck for dear life, already getting a serious case of whiplash. Eight seconds later though, I was thrown off and landed on the ground with a thud.

The Minotaur continued to thrash and stomp around, his enormous hooves leaving huge dents in the ground that very easily could crush me. I rolled to avoid one hoof, and ended up watching the other crash in front of my nose. I tried to scramble away, but one of the Minotaur's legs kicked out, giving me a serious crack to the ribs and knocking me off balance. When I saw a hoof raise high above my face, I was pretty sure that was it. I was going to be turned to a splatter on the underside of a monster hoof. But then, the Minotaur himself staggered back, a knife embedded in his chest down to the hilt. He let out a confused moan, and crumbled away to dust.

Han trotted up and lifted his knife out of the pile of dust, brushing it off.

"What?" he asked, noticing my stares. "Just because I flinch at ever noise the sky makes, that doesn't mean I can't throw a knife."

There was a light rumble in the sky above, and Han flinched correspondingly, dropping his knife which would have stabbed him if he hadn't had hooves instead of feet. I shook my head. Just when you think Han will impress you, he goes and does something like that.

Will hobbled over, rubbing his side. "Well what are we all just standing around for? We've got three days, and symbols of power don't steal themselves. C'mon, move your butts, it's a long walk to Manhattan from here."

He was right. We spent the rest of that day walking the remaining fifteen miles into New York. By the time we got into the city and found a cab, the sun was setting. Which meant Chiron probably knew we were missing by now.

* * *

><p>Dax, head counselor for the Athena cabin, examined the wreck along with Rick from Zeus and Grind from Ares. "Well, this is the van."<p>

Rick whistled at the sight of it. The van was beat up, laying on its side with flat tires and a puddle of spilt fuel. It was covered in dents and dings, and shattered glass littered the area. But the most prominent detail was the two massive holes in the side of the van.

"What do you think happened here?" Rick asked.

"Well, let's see," Dax murmured, examining the scene. "Diameter of the holes, approximate distance between them…punctured inward, not out…" The son of Athena continued, his mind taking in every piece of evidence, making estimates on likely seating arrangements, guessing the amount of strength it would take to overturn the van, and things like that.

"They were driving down the road," Dax decided, "when right about…there the Minotaur hit and they went rolling, coming to a stop here. All the windows are cracked or broken but the windshield has been pretty much cleared away, so that's where they crawled out of."

"Okay, what happened after that?" Rick asked.

Grind spoke up. "See the hoof prints over here? Too wild a pattern to have been the initial charge. Someone or something made the Minotaur mad enough to start bucking like a Texas bull. Probably one of them jumping onto its back to go for the kill. No hoof prints leading away from here, and no blood. So they won the fight."

Dax looked to Grind, impressed. "How.."

"Look I may not know what the square root of pie is," Grind defended, "but Ares kids know their way around a fight. I could look at just about any battle scene and tell you what happened."

"And yet…you can't figure out a revolving door," Dax sighed.

"Watch it Brainiac!" Grind warned. "That big head of yours won't do you any good if it's splattered all over the floor!"

Dax rested one hand on the short sword that hung from his belt. "Go ahead War Jockey. Give me an excuse."

Grind's nostrils flared and his fists clenched, but his glare was met by Dax's cold, calculating stare. Despite every fiber of his body screaming to tear apart the cocky son of Athena, Grind backed down. Dax smiled, satisfied that he'd won the stand off.

"Smarter than you look," Dax muttered.

Grind briefly shot forward once again, and Dax flinched, but Grind stopped himself. The son of Ares shook his head. "Not worth it."

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Dax retorted. That pushed Grind over the edge.

Grind pulled a small hatchet out of his boot, which quickly expanded and grew into a full sized, double bladed battle ax. Dax yanked his short sword from its sheath in response, and Grind began to move forward. However, almost as if he had hit a wall, he stopped. Grind huffed and tried to take a step forward, but he was pushed back by a strong wind. Dax was met with similar resistance when he tried to move against Grind. Both fighters instantly looked to Rick, who had his hands raised.

"Guys, guys," Rick said, "…you do know I could take you both down if I had to, right?"

Grind huffed and stood down. His axe shrank back into a hatchet before returning to its place in his boot. Dax slid his short sword back into its sheath, still glaring at Grind but now casting some of that look in Rick's direction. Rick felt compelled to glare back. No one openly attacked though. They were after all, still on the same side. To some degree. At the very least, they still had to find out what had happened to Jacob, Will, and Han.

* * *

><p>The three of us were in the elevator, riding all the way up to Mount Olympus. Han was chewing his shirt again, and Will was hating on the elevator music. I was, admittedly, nervous. Will was right. The last guy who'd stolen the symbols of power from the Big Three had ended up with a seriously screwed up life for a long time. I didn't want to imagine what would happen to us when we stole all three. Which was why <em>Don't get caught <em>was a big objective here.

The doors opened with an overly pleasant _ding_ and the city of Mount Olympus stood before us. Every time I saw this place, I couldn't help but smile, because it was all designed by my mom. She'd done an amazing job too. It was something that made you hold your head a little higher, being the son of the Architect of Olympus. Even the title had a snazzy ring to it. I really hoped one day I'd have one like that. Too bad the Lightning Thief was already taken, since I was about to earn it.

We all had to act as casual as possible as we walked down the streets headed for the throne room. Which for Han wasn't easy. Still, we managed to make it to the throne room without too many people looking at us and wondering what the heck we were doing. Eventually, we reached the throne room.

"You just _had _to say hi to the wood nymphs didn't you?" Will asked Han. Our satyr buddy just shrugged, a smile on his face.

"I prefer stupid Han over nervous Han," I put in. "Let's just focus okay?"

Will and han both nodded agreement. I exhaled slowly and stared at the entrance to the throne room. "So…who wants to go in first?"


	3. Interview: Miz

_**002: This is a horrible idea.**_

_**003: This is a great idea! Now stop doubting me woman, and help me with this rope.**_

_**002: Ahem.**_

_**003: Please?**_

_**002: Fine…**_

"Take cover!" Jacob shouted. He and the rest of his men ducked behind an overturned truck as Embers rained fire down on their position. "All leaders, pull back!" Jacob shouted into his earpiece. High-pitched, distinctive chirps came back over the radio, letting him know everyone understood.

Los Angeles had been a hard fight from the start, they'd all known that going in. But the level of organization the Embers were attacking with was unheard of. Their fighting was still chaotic, but it was now organized chaos.

They'd invested everything in this battle. Some of the top demigod commanders were in this fight. Civilians were being evacuated in truck loads and boatloads and planeloads and chopper loads. If it could get people out of the city and it wasn't needed in combat, it was taking civilians away from the doomed city.

That's what every battle had been really. The army of Urunos would be sighted headed for a city, the Allies would swoop in to hold back Urunos as long as possible while evacuation got underway, then the Allies would retreat and Urunos's army would destroy whatever was left.

Los Angeles was looking to be no different. Evacuation was only one-third complete, but already the lines of the Allies were about to break.

Jacob and what was left of his platoon made a run for it, the machine gunners stopping every so often to give covering fire before rushing to catch up.

"This is Captain di Angelo, we're at the fall back point with Platoon D and we're under heavy assault," Alex's voice crackled over the radio. "If you guys on your way, it'd be really nice if you maybe sped up."

"Keep your pants on di Angelo, we're on our way," Roxanne's voice interjected.

"Or hey, if you maybe wanted to take your pants off…" Tony's voice hinted.

"Cut that talk over the radio Tony, or you'll be answering to me," Jacob reprimanded. "Understood?"

"Whoa Tony, don't you know better than to mess with the General's girl?" Henry taunted. There was a light ripple of laughter over the radio after that.

"Henry, control yourself, this is an open channel," Jacob reminded him. Every soldier with a radio was listening to this. If it didn't scream unprofessional, I don't know what did.

"What the heck is that?" Will's voice suddenly shouted over the radio, interrupting everything. A scream quickly followed, then a burst of static.

"Will, what's your status?" Jacob asked.

"Whoa!" Henry's voice shouted. "Guys, we've got something seriously weird over—"

"What the Hades?" was all Jacob heard from Alex.

And then he saw what all the fuss must have been about. A tear seemed to open up in the very fabric of space, a gaping black hole that seemed to radiate mystery. While Jacob stared at it, a single line of rope shot out of it, wrapped around Miz, and yanked the sword in.

_Tell my wife I love her! _Miz's last cry echoed in Jacob's mind.

A moment later, the rope shot out again, this time wrapping around Jacob himself. Before he could scream, he was yanked in.

Jacob tilted his head around as he slowly regained consciousness. He blinked a few times as he tried to recall his last memory. He'd been in LA, fighting. And then, that black hole had shown up out of nowhere, yanked Miz and himself in, and after that…then what happened? That possibly huge chunk of memory was missing now.

He wasn't in LA anymore, that was for sure. The room he was in was painted a gray-blue color, and dark wood furniture dotted the room here and there. Overhead, a black and silver fan spun lazily. Jacob himself was sitting on some kind of couch, and there was some kind of weight on his shoulder.

That was when Jacob realized he wasn't alone on the couch. At the far end of it was Henry, passed out and drooling. Roxanne was laying out asleep, her head in Henry's lap and a scowl on her face. Will was slouched over, but luckily for him he wasn't laying on anyone or vice versa. Tony was laying upside down on the couch, his head dangling from the bottom and his feet in the air.

Han was on the couch too, but he looked like he'd been tossed onto it like a rag doll. Half of him was slumped onto the couch, and the other half was doubled over the edge. Jacob saw Rae, who he hadn't seen since she'd joined the Hunters a year ago. Her face was buried into Han's shoulder, and she looked like she'd been tossed onto the couch too.

And of course, there was Alex, sleeping with her legs tucked underneath her and her head resting on Jacob's shoulder. One of his arms had somehow ended up around her, and her hands were both clutching his other.

Propped up in a corner of the room was Miz, still in sword form.

_About time you woke up. _The sword greeted. _Make yourself useful and tell me what's going on. I can't see a thing._

"Uh…" Jacob began, looking around. "I'm not sure…"

A moan interrupted Jacob's thoughts, and Han's form stirred. He tried to roll onto his back, and ended up falling off the couch in the process. He landed with a thud, and started snoring. Rae however, slumped over without Han's shoulder supporting her limp form, and she butted heads with Will.

"Huh?" Will muttered, waking up. He shoved Rae away from him, still not fully aware. She fell off the couch, waking up with an _oof_ that got Tony to wake up and realize he was upside down.

"What in the?" Tony's arms flailed to try and right himself, but all he succeeded in doing was slipping off the couch and kicking Alex in the head.

The impact must have jarred some instinct in Alex as she woke up, because her first movement was a blind punch that caught Jacob under the jaw and sent him tumbling along with her to the floor. She opened her eyes to find herself on top of Jacob while he rubbed the spot where she'd hit him.

"Jacob?" she asked, confused. She hadn't looked around and seen the others yet, she just knew what was right in front of her face. Right in front of her lips.

"Is this a dream?" she asked.

That got a chuckle from Tony, who'd been watching the pair. "Aw, she dreams about him."

Alex sent him a glare and, deciding it wasn't a dream, she sent out a gust of wind that sent him tumbling backward into a pair of closet doors that gave a loud _thud _when they hit. Alex and Jacob, in line with that deal they'd made last year, hadn't gotten together, and she hated when people remarked that they had.

The thud Tony made was enough to wake Han, who instantly shot up into rigid attention. "I'm awake!"

His shout in turn woke up Roxanne, who looked up to see Henry's drooling face. Her eyes widened in disgust, and she threw the poor guy off the couch. He hit a bookshelf, and after a couple oversized how to manuals hit him in the head he came to.

"Oh my aching head…" were the first words out of his mouth.

"Where…are we?" Will asked, surveying the relatively small room they were in.

"Forget that, where's LA?" Henry asked. He went to a nearby window, and when he looked out he saw only quiet, one story suburbs. Not a battle scarred city that marked another Allied loss.

"And our weapons," Roxanne realized.

The sound of a doorknob turning drew everyone's attention, and in walked none other than Agent 003 himself.

"You!" Henry shouted in terror, and immediately hid behind Roxanne. "I know him! He's the guy who keeps coming into my dreams and trying to steal my pancakes!"

Roxanne rolled her eyes and gave Henry a good smack to recompose him. 003 chuckled at that. Usually, he the fourth wall intact, but messing with Henry was just too fun.

"Who are you?" Jacob asked, taking charge.

"Me? Well, most people call me 003 or Phoenix, my mother calls me [CENSORED], and this one hobo calls me Sexy. But, yeah you should all probably just call me 003."

"Where are we?" Tony asked next.

"Oh, that's easy. You're on the other side of the forth wall," 003 said, as if that explained everything.

Only someone like Jacob even knew what a fourth wall was. "Fourth wall? What does that have to do with anything?"

"To put it simply, you are all part of a fictional universe created by myself. In a way, I suppose you could look at me as the supreme ruler of the world you live in," 003 said. "Oh, and I'm modest too."

"So what you're saying is we're from a story?" Roxanne asked. 003 nodded. "And you're the writer?" Another nod. "Okay, I believe— NO WAY I'LL BELIEVE THAT!"

"Oh?" 003 asked, a mischievous smile on his face. "Then believe this."

003 snapped his fingers, and without warning Roxanne tackled Henry to the floor, kissing him passionately. Everyone in the room other than 003 watched in shock until 003 snapped his fingers again and the couple broke apart.

Roxanne began spitting all over the carpeted floor, disgusted by what she'd just done and confused on how or why she'd done it.

"What was that?" she asked in rage.

"That was me, writing that into this story," 003 explained. "We may be in the real world but I still reign supreme over you guys."

"So you could make us do whatever you want?" Jacob reasoned.

"Exactly," 003 confirmed. "Heck, if I wanted I could swap all of your genders."

"NO!" was the (mostly) unanimous cry from the group. Tony though seemed to be thinking it over.

"But, my awesome power aside, that's not why I pulled you out of the story," 003 said, settling down a bit now that his creations believed him.

"Then why are we here?" Will asked.

"Well, the readers want to get to know you guys better, yell at you for all your dumb mistakes, and I think one or two of them may want to profess love to some of you," 003 said. "You've all been brought to the real world for interviews! Even Miz!"

"Miz?" Tony asked. "Who the Hades is Miz?"

003 and Jacob both pointed to the sword in the corner, and Alex facepalmed. So all those times Jacob had claimed Miz could talk were true?

"Which reminds me, he's up first," 003 said, and grabbed the sword. Jacob moved in to take it, but 003 waved his hand dismissively and Alex was flung into him. The others decided it was a good idea not to mess with 003 for now.

003 began to leave the room, but he stopped to give the remaining characters a bit more info. "I'll be back for the rest of you later. For now, make yourselves at home."

003 felt just a tiny bit stupid. But only because he was looking at a sword propped up in a chair. It was odd, and he was beginning to wonder what he'd been thinking when he'd given this weapon a personality.

"So, Miz…can I call you Miz?" 003 asked nonchalantly.

_No._ Miz said simply. It wasn't an angry or defiant tone. It was bored if anything.

"How about Fabio?" 003 asked.

_Colder._ Miz said.

"Whatever, I'm calling you Miz," 003 decided. "Now Miz, several readers want to know, why is your name Miz?"

_None of your business_. Was Miz's polite response.

"Do you want to survive the sequel?" 003 threatened casually.

_Ok, ok, I get the idea. Well, it all started back when I was first forged. Requested by Poseidon himself, a sword that could help a fighter of the sea think clearly and also enhance their powers. Because, sadly, children of Poseidon tend to get a little…impulsive. I was supposed to do the more complicated tactics and thinking for them._

"What does this have to do with your name exactly?" 003 asked.

_I'm getting there! So I was forged, and as the final touch a soul from the Underworld with knowledge in fighting was sealed into the Oceanic Sapphire gems of the blade, and just like that you have me. The soul that made me…you, alive, was formerly demigod, so I was named Imitheos, which in English, means Demigod._

"So how does that explain you being called Miz?" 003 asked again.

_Be patient I'm telling a story! Anyway, then one day this young couple comes in looking for a sword for their kid. I think, big whoop, whatever. For whatever reason though, they picked me. When they asked my name, they misheard it as Imizeos, and the man of the couple decides to just call me Miz for short._

"And you kept that name?"

_Hades yeah I did. I like the name. It doesn't have some over glorified symbolic meaning, doesn't associate me with something else. Miz doesn't mean Looking Glass or Riptide or whatever, it just means me. I like that. Plus, it's got a ring to it._

003 nodded, and scribbled some stuff down on a pad before continuing. "Alright, next question. Chronos the Cookie Thief wants to know, what embarrassing things have you seen Jacob do?"

_We are talking about the same Jacob right? Because a better question would be, what haven't I seen him do? There was the time he shot a goddess, just to impress Scary Girl. How that worked out for him I'll never know. _

_Then there was the time back when he was practicing with some of those earthquake abilities of his, and he accidentally toppled the climbing wall onto a couple crates of fresh picked strawberries. Boy, was the horseman upset about _that_! I could go on forever about this, what's the next question?_

"Now Miz, we've got a fan who's presumably from the UK who wants to know, why do you hate Jacob so much?" 003 asked.

_Well, it's like I said. I was given a mind and ability to speak with my wielder so I could offer guidance and tactics in the heat of battle when stupid impulses might get them killed. I was designed to be the brains of a well-synced fighting team. Instead, I got paired with the kid._

"And what's so bad about that?" 003 asked.

_Well, let's face it. Aside from the beginning when Jacob was still new to all of this, he hasn't really _needed_ calm and calculated advice when he can come up with it on his own. I know I should feel thrilled to be the weapon of choice for a good fighter but…and if you tell Jake, I'll deny ever saying it…the kid's so good he makes me feel a bit…useless. Like I'd be more useful as a silent hunk of metal instead of a talking one._

"I had no idea," 003 said sympathetically. "Well, actually, I did. But the readers didn't! And that's really all we have time for. Miz, go ahead and head back to the waiting room and send Henry in."

_You _do _know I'm a sword right? I have no legs._

"Oh…right…." 003 said. "Then we could be here a while."

_Why?_ Miz asked cautiously.

"Because, if the sensation in my buttocks is to be believed, 1136 left a heaping amount of glue in this chair before I sat down," 003 explained, fidgeting uncomfortably in his chair but unable to rise. "Right…well, looks like next chapter we go back to the Great Olympian Heist! And up next for an interview is Henry, the son of Poseidon. So, see you next update."

_So, how do you intend to get out of this? _Miz asked.

003 thought about it for a while.

"002!"

"I'm coming!"

_**1136: I couldn't help myself. You know, I never really noticed before, probably because we were on opposite sides of the forth wall, but Roxanne is freaking hot! Think I have any chances with that before she has to leave?**_

_**Henry: She's mine!**_

_**Roxanne: *watches 1136 and Henry brutally beat each other* Yeah…they're both idiots. Well, while we sort this mess out, why don't you go ahead and leave a review for us? OR ELSE!**_


	4. The Olympian Heist Part 2

_**003: This is…uncomfortable.**_

_**002: Ever thought about how I feel about it? I'm the one scraping glue off your butt. *continues to chisel away***_

_**003: Are you almost done yet? OW!**_

_**002: Oops, my bad. *grins evilly***_

"This is stupid," Hades muttered.

"Can I go home now?" Poseidon asked.

"NO!" Hera insisted, and hit the god of the sea's hand with a wooden spoon. Poseidon yanked the hand back, rubbing the spot where he'd been struck. Athena, who was watching all of this go down, couldn't help but smack her forehead at the sight of Poseidon being scolded like a child.

"We've been at this for four hours," Hades complained. "Ugh, this is why I never used to come up to Olympus."

"No one is leaving until you three make nice," Aphrodite said to the three brothers. Zeus, Hades and Poseidon exchanged glances and glares. They'd been pointlessly arguing about…something. No one even remembered anymore. But Hera had decided they'd been arguing on and off for millennia and it needed to stop, so she and the other gods had staged an intervention for the Big Three to "set aside their differences" and "learn to get along". Ares had barfed and left to go "hit something" only ten minutes into it.

Their symbols of power had been confiscated and left in the throne room, just in case things got too hostile. But Hera was being persistent. The three were not allowed to leave until they agreed to stop fighting. Yeah, because that was going to happen in the next six hours.

"Just admit you're both idiots so we can all get back to work," Zeus groaned.

"Us?" Poseidon said, offended. "We're the idiots? This coming from the god who fries people to a crisp so they don't get hurt?"

"Oh shut up, how was I supposed to know there was gas in that car?" Zeus defended.

"It was running!"

"Why am I here again?" Hades asked, bored of watching his two brothers bicker like immortal five-year olds with biceps the size of bowling balls. "You don't see me arguing, do you?"

"Oh right, because you're sooo much better than we are," Zeus taunted.

"Well, now that you admit it…"

Hera smacked herself in the forehead as well. This could take a while. A _long _while. It was a good thing it was a peaceful day and the Big Three wouldn't be needing their ultimate weapons of power for anything.

* * *

><p>Will was the first to peek inside for any signs of trouble. Finding none, he waved us forward. The throne room was empty, surprisingly, except for the steadily burning hearth and the Ophiotaurus swimming happily in its aquarium. But oh the prize. Resting atop the throne of Hades, like some sort of decoration, was the Helm of Darkness. Where a fishing pole would normally go in Poseidon's throne was the mighty trident, and resting on an arm of Zeus's throne was the master bolt.<p>

It was almost too good to be true. There, unguarded were the three things we'd been searching for. But what were they all doing here anyway? You know what? I don't care, I'm just glad that with only one day left we don't have to make the extra trips to the ocean and the Underworld.

There were just two problems. One, gods didn't like it when people touched their thrones. If we did, we would be blasted to bits for sure. And two, the more obvious of the two, the thrones were tall. Really tall. We couldn't exactly just grab a step stool, steal the weapons and run, now could we?

"Well now what?" Han asked miserably. His voice echoed in the empty chambers, and Will immediately clamped his hands over his mouth.

"The Helm first," I decided. "If we can get it, we can use it to grab the other items without ever being noticed."

"Yeah, but how do we get up to it?" Will asked in a whisper. "It's not exactly at eye level, or did neither of you notice that?"

All three of us looked up, but it was Han who snapped his fingers as an idea came to him. He smiled, proud of himself. "I've got it! Guys, come here!"

At first I was glad we might have a way to snag the helm without dying, but a few moments later Will and I were regretting going along with Han's "master plan".

"For the record," Will grunted out, "This is a horrible idea."

"Stop moving, you're throwing me off balance," Han dismissed.

"You have no balance!"

Willl and I were struggling to support Han as he reached out for the Helm. Will and I had locked our hands together to form small platforms for Han to stand his hooves on, and the two of us gave him a boost to reach up and grab the Helm _without _climbing all over the throne. Because I don't think Hades would appreciate goat hair in his seat.

"Little higher," Han encouraged as he stretched his arms out. "A little higher, c'mon just a little higher…"

"How long do you think my arms are?" I retorted in an angry whisper.

Han's fingers just barely brushed the base of the Helm, but he couldn't grab it. He tried again, and only succeeded in nudging it a little. His legs were shaky from trying to balance, and our arms were tiring out pretty quickly from trying to hold him up.

Han's legs gave out first, and he nearly fell onto the throne before he shifted his weight to avoid it. He still ended up knocking the Helm off the throne and sending it crashing to the floor. The sound of that elaborate bronze helm hitting the floor was the loudest noise I'd ever heard.

We all sucked in a breath and waited. Four three heartbeats, there was no sound. Then, soft footsteps. Han panicked and trotted out to grab the Helm before Will or I could stop him. That stupid satyr grabbed the Helm, pulled it on, and vanished.

"He ditched us," I said in disbelief.

Will grabbed my arm and yanked me behind Zeus's throne. "Hide!"

We crouched behind the throne, drawing breath as quietly as possible until the sound of throne room doors opening silenced us. Will and I stopped breathing and waited while I silently begged my hearbeat to be quieter. The soft footsteps entered the room, and I caught a voice.

"Can't believe I forgot to adjust this thing before my break," a young girl's voice muttered. Will risked peeking out, and so did I.

By the hearth was Hestia, tending to the hearth briefly and quickly. It wasn't long before the flames were glowing and crackling as bright as ever. She smiled, pleased with her work, and walked back out of the throne room. Once the doors shut, Will and I finally let out our breath.

"That was close," Han said, suddenly right behind us.

I jumped and actually let out a surprised shout before I realized it was just Han. Then, I glared and swiped the Helm from his hands. "Give me that! What do you think this is, a toy?"

Han pouted but didn't make any other protest. I inspected the Helm to make sure nothing had happened to it during the fall. It was fine except for a bit of a smudge here and a scratch there. Nothing serious…hopefully. I don't pretend to understand this thing.

"One down," Will said, staring at it. I nodded, now setting my sights on the trident. It was…big. Very big. But it should shrink down once we got a hold of it. And now that we had the Helm of Darkness, this would be a synch.

I slipped the helm on and it was like my body melted away into the shadows. It moved to Poseidon's throne, my eyes fixed on the trident resting in its slot. Gulping down my fears and doubts, I climbed onto Poseidon's throne.

I waited for the "WHO DARES?" followed by the blast that would turn me into algae… but nothing happened.

I looked to Han and Will to give them a thumbs up, but they didn't react. I forgot they couldn't see me either. They just stared at the trident, waiting for something to happen. I reached out, and after a moment's hesitation, grabbed it. It shrank down to a more manageable size as I lifted it. Han and Will jumped slightly, surprised about something. I looked around, but there was nothing.

I hopped off the throne and pulled off the Helm, satisfied that it worked.

"Holy Zeus, it worked," Will said.

"That was awesome!" Han said. "One second the trident was there, and the next it's gone! Then when you come back, you've got it in your hands!"

"Is that what it looked like?" I said, handing Will the trident to hold while I set my sights on the master bolt.

But before I could go after it, I heard the voice of a very angry god yell. "SCREW THIS, I'M LEAVING!" Stomping footsteps reached our ears, headed for the throne room.

"…time to run," Han gulped.

I tossed him the Helm and ran toward Zeus's throne. "Both of you, run, go!"

"What?" Will asked, still clutching the trident. "What about you, if they find everything missing and your still here, they'll kill you!"

"If we don't bring all three weapons, they'll kill Alex," I reminded him. "Now go! If I get caught, I don't need you two dying with me."

"You're crazy!" Will shouted in disbelief.

"BYE!" Han shouted. He slipped the Helm over his head, and he was gone in an instant. Will shook his head, gave me one last pity filled look, and took off with the trident. But just before he could make it out, a thought came into my head.

"Will, if I don't make it, you have to save her!" I called after him. "Don't let her die! Do you hear me?"

Will stopped, turned, and nodded. "I hear you!"

Then he was gone too. I jumped onto Zeus's throne. Almost immediately, thunder rumbled in the clouds. I jumped again onto the armrest, grabbed the master bolt, and jumped back down. Before I could take off running though, there was a flash in the center of the room, almost blinding me.

* * *

><p>Hades, who'd tried to leave earlier, was now in a heated argument with Zeus and Hera, with Poseidon struggling to restrain him from attacking or worse…leaving the god of the seas alone to deal with ridiculous intervention.<p>

"Wait!" Zeus said, calling every shouting god at the intervention to a halt. He stood still for a moment, and then suddenly his face turned to one of rage. Thunder rumbled in the clouds, and Zeus began to storm off for the throne room until Hera stopped him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hera asked.

"Someone was on my throne, I felt it!" Zeus shouted.

"Then _I'll _handle it," she insisted. "I told you, you're not going anywhere until you sort things out with your brothers. If you don't, you three and your constant fighting will tear this family apart!"

Zeus glared, but Hera glared back even harder. Finally, the king of the gods backed down and Hera flashed away to the throne room to deal with whatever fool who had dared to sit on a god's throne. Who knows, by the time she got back the Big Three may have even agreed to get along.

* * *

><p>I gaped as I saw Hera, the queen of the gods, look around the throne room. Her back was still turned to me, but my heart rate still shot up to dangerous speeds. Without even thinking, I pointed the master bolt and let out a single bolt of lightning. It struck her in the back of the neck, and she went down.<p>

I held my breath, waiting for her to get up and kill me. But she was out cold. I smiled in disbelief at my one shot of good luck for the year, and ran away after my other two partners in crime. But as I was running, it occurred to me, if anyone ever found out I's done all of this, I would be dead and cursed to an eternity of torture. Hades would probably have me run through a cactus field, swallow flaming lemons or even—gods forbid—force me to listen to Justin Bieber!

And that would all come _after_ the gods killed me in the most painful way possible.

Yeah, I picked up the pace after I thought that over. Eventually, I caught up to Will near the bridge that would take us back to the elevator. He stopped when he saw me, finally giving me a chance to stop running and catch my breath a little. Trying to outrun the wrath of the gods is hard work.

When I finally stopped panting, I looked up. "Where's Han?"

Han materialized out of thin air. "Right here. What happened back there?"

I bit my lip as I recalled what I'd had to do to escape. "Well…I'm pretty sure I knocked out Hera with a lightning bolt." The jaws of both my companions dropped open at that. But before either of them could say anything, an angry roar filled the air and shook the ground beneath our feet. Which meant someone had found the mess we'd left behind.

"That's our cue to leave," I said, and we all took off down the bridge.

"Well, we angered the gods," Han said as we ran. "What happens now? Cut a deal with the Titans maybe?"

"We need to make a sacrifice to Hecate," I remembered. "After that…I don't know exactly. There's still a pretty big gap in my plan."

"You have a plan?" Will taunted. "I thought you were just making this up as you went along."

We reached the elevator, and Han must've hit the down button about twenty times before I grabbed his wrist to stop him. Why, of why do elevators have to take so long? I nervously glanced over my shoulder, wondering if the gods had already locked onto us or something. Han couldn't take it and pulled the Helm back on, vanishing once again.

Somehow, we stayed alive long enough for the elevator to come up to us. Will and I scrambled in, and Han was probably in with us even though we couldn't see him. The ride down couldn't go fast enough. The legendary Lightning Thief had made it a long ways off before the gods even noticed the bolt was missing. We on the other hand, had been discovered before we'd even made it out of Olympus. We were on thin ice already, and part of me wanted to act like Han and vanish so I could eat my shirt.

But another, likely stupider, part of me was taking a sick liking to all of this. The pressure, the risk, the test of my abilities, it was a challenge that begged me to answer it. Nervous as I was, the thought entered my mind that _I can do this._

* * *

><p>"You're making a big mistake," Alex droned.<p>

"I'm sure I am," Evan laughed.

"You're going to regret this," Alex repeated for the billionth time. "You're going to get your over confident ass kicked."

"Why?" Evan taunted. "Is Jacob going to come, beat me and save you?"

"Jacob?" Alex asked. "Who said anything about Jacob? I meant me. _I'm _going to kick your ass."

Evan stared at the chains that still held Alex firmly in place. She looked down at them too, and sighed. "Okay, so maybe not anytime _soon_. But mark my words, you're going to eat voltage."

"I'm trembling just thinking about it," Evan teased. He smiled as he watched the sun slowly set on another day. "Almost out of time Jacob, better hurry…"

There was a rumble in the sky, and a black lightning bolt shot down from the sky. It missed Evan by less than a foot, and he turned to Alex with a look of rage on his face. Alex gave him a shy, innocent look as she said, "It wasn't me."

Evan let a punch fly, just to remind Alex who was boss. She took it, but she barely flinched at it. How much starvation, beatings, and threats did it take to break this girl? Evan stormed off, his satisfaction gone and replaced by anger. Alex smiled despite the fact that she was probably going to have a bruised face now. Nothing Evan or the Pit could do was going to keep her down.

* * *

><p>I was woken to the sensation of a stretching goat hoof hitting my face. I rolled away in annoyance, stretched my sore limbs, and stood up. Han groaned in his sleep, curled into a ball, and continued his peaceful rest. I gave him a light kick to the shaggy behind.<p>

"Ow!" he complained, rubbing the spot where I'd kicked him. "What was that for?"

"For waking me up," I told him.

We'd spent the night in some woods by a freeway not that far outside Manhattan. Not exactly a four star hotel, but demigods aren't exactly made of money. Alex once pulled a diamond out of the ground…but still, we're not made of money.

Pretty soon, all three of us were awake, standing in a circle (Or, triangle when you think about it.) around the master bolt, the trident, and the helm of darkness. By the look on Han's face you would think they were king cobras that had their fangs bared.

"Okay…everybody ready for what happens now?" I asked.

"You mean the part of the plan where we die?" Han asked. "No, I'm not ready."

"Calm down Goat Boy, we're not going to die…right?" Will aksed me. I just shrugged, even though I was ninety-nine percent sure we'd come out of this okay. The other one percent though…wasn't pretty, I'll say that much.

"Alright, let's get a fire going," I said. "Then, we make the offering to Hecate, save Alex, and party because we outsmarted the Pit."

"See? Why can't you make all your plans sound that simple and nice?" Han whined.

"Because, I really like seeing your face when I remind you that standing in our way is quite possibly a small army," I said, a smile spreading across my face.

Han whimpered, but got to work collecting wood for the fire.

_**003: *rubs butt* Ok, that's it for this chapter. Up next, we have an interview with Henry, the son of Poseidon. If you have any questions for him send them by either PM or review, whichever works for you. **_


	5. Interview: Henry

_**002: Thanks for the help getting 1136 back under control 006. Him and Henry were really going at it…and over a girl who hates both of them too, no less.**_

_**006: Guess your 1136 is even dumber than mine.**_

_**1136: How did you even get here? You're from a DIFFERENT UNIVERSE!**_

_**003: That's author power for ya. There is no universe I cannot tap. I could make the cast of Twilight dance a conga line if I wanted… but I won't. Just the thought is…wrong.**_

"Again?" Alex asked Jacob, panting by now.

He nodded, too tired to even say anything yet. Neither of them started moving though, until he finally managed to gasp out, "Again."

"How long are those two going to keep it up?" Tony asked, watching.

"They've got to stop some time," Will reasoned, although he was doubting his own words. Never before had he seen two people try so hard for so long…to break a window.

**_(AN: What did you THINK they were doing?)_**

Alex and Jacob rushed forward and slammed their full weight against the ordinary looking window of the room, only to hit it and bounce back onto the floor with a chorused _oof!_ They groaned, unable to break the glass despite their best efforts.

"What is this room _made _of?" Jacob cried out in exasperation.

Roxanne stepped forward, cracking her knuckles. "You pansies are just too damn weak," she reasoned, her eyes fixating in a glare on the window, their only possible exit from the room besides the one door. "Let me show you how it's done…"

Roxanne pulled her fist back, her muscles tensing like a coiled spring. With a mighty battle cry, she let the punch fly— and then hissed in pain when it hit the glass without so much as cracking it. She did her best to hold in the shout of pain stuck in her throat, but it demanded release.

"Ah! Styx!" she cried out, shaking her wrist. "The Hades, what is that thing _made _of?"

"Again, that's just good 'ol all powerful author power for ya," 003's voice told them.

All heads spun to see 003 leaning in the door way, Jacob's sword in his hand and his usual confident smile on his face.

"Let us out of here!" Roxanne demanded. Her fists clenched and her eyes just burned with fury, but 003 just yawned, checked his watch, and gave her a look that said _Do you WANT another make out session with Henry?_ Roxanne huffed, but backed down.

"Really, I'm sure in some twisted way this all makes sense to you," Jacob said, trying to reason with this seemingly all powerful lunatic. "But we need to get back to…wherever it is you took us from, I don't even know anymore."

"Relax, I'll send you all home, of sound mind and body once this is over," 003 promised, his fingers crossed and easily visible.

Tony facepalmed. "We are so screwed."

"Yeah…" 003 agreed as a stupid grin spread over his face. "That reminds me…Henry! You're up! C'mon Kelp Head the fans are waiting!"

"Fans?" Henry asked. "I have fans?"

003 shrugged. "Probably. In terms of people wanting you to live, you're in 4th place, after the sword."

_Ha! _Miz laughed. _In your salty FACE! Gods bless the Pointy One._

"Shut it Miz," 003 and Jacob groaned simultaneously.

"I…I'm less popular than a hunk of metal?" Henry said in disbelief. "Even if it is a _shiny _hunk of metal, that's still unbelievable!"

"Sucks to be you man," Jacob told him, patting his back.

"Not so fast Jacob," 003 said, holding back a laugh. "For a pretty long time, you and Miz were _tied._ For second."

"WHAT?" Miz and Jacob said at the same time.

But Miz was taking the news a bit…differently. _Ha-ha! You hear that Smart One? That is what we call good old fashioned IRONY!_

"I can't believe you people are actually buying this 'You're all fictional' crap," Roxanne groaned. "I mean really, he's clearly just some extremely delusional minor god who's messing with our heads _in the middle of a gods damn war_."

"Seize the non-believer!" 003 commanded, and a portal opened up behind Roxanne, sucking her in before vanishing. Everyone stared in shock, but 003 just smiled as if everything was normal. "I could get used to this. Now where was? Oh yes, Henry, come with me. The rest of you, on the couch and wait your turn."

The remaining half-bloods, the huntress, and the satyr all complied, scrambling onto the couch to avoid 003's wrath. Because whether he turned out to be a god or an author, he was proving very quickly to be dangerous to mess with.

* * *

><p>"So, Henry, how are you feeling?" 003 asked kindly.<p>

"Uh…pretty good, I guess," Henry said.

003 nodded appreciatively. "That's good. That's good… So Henry! We've got someone asking, why are you the only son of Poseidon? I mean, besides Percy. Although really, who cares about him anymore?"

"I honestly have no idea," Henry admitted. "Maybe Poseidon's still google-eyed over Percy's mom, maybe I'm the only child of Poseidon who didn't get snatched by the Pit…or maybe…Athena lured them all into a giant vase and threw that vase into the Underworld!"

"Riiight…" 003 said. "Hey, here's a fun one! Have you ever had feelings for Alex?"

Henry raised an eyebrow. "Alex? Me? She's hot, not interested in me at all, and could kick my butt with both hands tied behind her back so she's definitely my type…but, no. I met Alex when I was nine years old. I'd just gotten to camp, I was scared and confused and sad because I'd never see any of my old friends again…and then I saw her shoot lightning at Dax and the first word out of my mouth was 'Cool!'."

"So she helped you cope?"

Henry just shrugged. "I guess you could look at it that way. Frankly she just gave the ADHD something else to get distracted by— say where'd you get that lamp?"

003 snapped his fingers. "Henry! Focus!"

"Huh? Oh, right… But I was eight. Girls still had cooties. And before I could even warm up to the idea of girls, a certain boy who's initials are Jacob Jackson showed up. Those guys seemed to click from minute one. You could try and right it off that they had a brother/sister thing going, but you'd have to be pretty stupid… Me and Alex, that's just not happening in my head."

"What about Roxanne?" 003 asked.

"Oh, now that's entirely different!" Henry said. "I met her when I was eight too. We were the same age, but when I first laid eyes on her, she was flipping a fifteen year old over her shoulder and swinging around a knife. I was scared as Hades, this girl looked like she wanted to eat us all alive!"

"And…how on Earth did that translate into you liking her?" 003 asked. He'd created Henry, and even he wasn't entirely sure what was going through that head.

"One time, when I was maybe…eleven? Yeah…I was eleven, some Ares kids were picking on me. She shows up out of the blue, tells them to back off, that I was all hers. Then she dragged me into the bathroom and shoved my head into the toilet. From there, all I had to do was go crazy with the plumbing and hose down everyone! We were a great team!"

003 facepalmed. "Henry, she was picking on you too."

"Nah, she just knew I needed a quick power boost to beat her siblings, and she gave me one. It worked out perfectly!" Henry said.

"Things like that happened a lot. One time I lost my trident in a fight, so she picked it up and chucked it back to me. Her throw was a little off though, so it almost hit me in the face. Luckily, I managed to catch it and then throw it at the guy I was sparring! Knocked him straight to the ground!"

"Henry, I think Roxanne is trying to kill you," 003 told him.

"But seriously, she's good-looking, she can snap a bone using only three fingers, she's awesome. Besides, I owe her for all the times she's had my back," Henry said.

"Gods, it's like talking to a brick wall," 003 muttered. "Ah well, ignorance is bliss…"

"What's next, I could answer these all day!" Henry said.

"Do you ever feel like your living in your big brother's shadow?" 003 asked.

"You mean Percy?" Henry asked. "Not really. I know, you're probably thinking, doesn't being related to the biggest hero of all time put you in his shadow? I guess in a different life it would. But you know, being the guy's brother is nothing compared to being his _son_. If anyone has to get out of the Percy Jackson shadow, it's Jacob. Poor guy."

"Last question for you, then I'm sure something will happen that will cause everything to come unraveled," 003 said. "How'd you first find out you were a demigod?"

Henry stopped watching a candle burn, becoming deathly serious. His eyes squeezed shut and he bit his lip, drawing in a hissed breath as if the memory caused physical pain. His face settled into a thousand yard glare. "How'd I first find out? That's easy...my mom tried to drown me."

003 leaned back, letting Henry recount the tale.

"I was a really little kid, six, maybe seven years old," Henry said. His tone was sad, hurt, lonely. "My mom was really wrapped up into anti-Olympian politics and all that mortal Minotaur shit. I swear Dad slept with her on a dare, because I don't know how a god or anyone else with anything to do with Olympus could stand her, much less love her."

003's attention was distracted as a very small portal opened up behind henry, fingertips clutching the edges. It was forcefully enlarged until finally Roxanne herself climbed out of it, looking madder than Hades. It closed behind her, and her eyes set their sights on 003.

Before she could rip 003's guts out though, he held up a discreet hand, and she froze in place. She struggled to move, but found it impossible. Henry didn't notice, continuing his story with both 003 and Roxanne now listening.

"She'd thought she'd had an affair with a rich sea captain or something, I forget. Then one day, Dad came and told her the truth, and she just _flipped_. She started throwing things, burning other stuff, and when she was done she set her sights on me. Forget that I'd been her little boy for seven years, because now that she knew I was a demigod, she hated me."

His tone grew more hurt and angry with each passing word. Never once did he get distracted or make a random comment. "She kept screaming 'Bastard! Olympian bastard!'…she dragged me up the stairs by my hair, screaming at me. I remember yelling back, begging her to stop…to just let me go…"

Henry paused to blink away the tears forming in his eyes. Roxanne's face changed from one of hatred and rage to one of sympathy and concern. 003 shook his head slightly. 003 had spent his whole life (the part that he could remember anyway) wishing he knew his mother. But if she turned out to be anything like Henry's, 003 preferred to stay an orphan.

"She held me by my hair and then just shoved my whole face into the toilet, underwater, trying to drown me. My mom…tried to kill me. At first all I could do was scream with my face in the water and struggle. I tried to get her off but my arms were too weak…"

"And then," Henry said, "The whole bathroom went nuts. First the sink burst, which scared her and finally got her to let me go. Water started gushing everywhere, I was crying, she was freaking out…and then the toilet water shout out and knocked her into the bathtub. She must've hit her head because she didn't move. Then…the bathtub turned on, the water was running and her mouth was open…"

"It wasn't me," Henry insisted, his voice cracking. "I swear to Zeus it wasn't me. I didn't do any of that. I didn't…I would never kill my own…"

"I guess that's why my ADHD's so bad," Henry admitted. "Guess that's why I let it get so carried away. When I'm distracted, I'm too busy living with the attention span of a peanut to remember that day, and all the pain it caused. Sometimes when nothing in the world makes sense and you just want to scream, it's nice to be able to completely forget your problems just by watching a butterfly, you know? Like, it doesn't matter how screwed up everything gets, I'm too distracted to get worked up over it. Usually anyway."

003 nodded his sympathy and waved his hand. The door out of the room opened, and Roxanne vanished through another portal without Henry ever having known she was there. Henry slowly exhaled to regain his composure, and walked out.

_**002: Poor Henry… *smacks 003***_

_**003: What was that for?**_

_**002: For giving him such a crappy childhood! Jerk.**_

_**003: Well SOMEBODY in the story had to have one!**_


	6. The Olympian Heist: Part 3

_**003: Before you even say it…I've been busy. With something important. Anyway. This chapter is officially going to wrap up the Great Olympian Heist story. Next chapter is an interview with…not Jacob or Alex! Next chapter, we interview Roxanne! Submit your questions and all that yutz you have for her in a review or PM, yadda yadda.**_

_**In the chapter AFTER Roxanne's interview, we'll start the new story Bridges Must Break.**_

"Got our 'sacrifice'?" Will asked me.

I dug a pack of day old beef jerky out of my pocket, nodding. Han shook his head. "Really guys? This is the offering we're making to the goddess of magic?"

"Hey if she wants something better she shouldn't work for the Pit," I defended. "She gets what we give her."

Will turned his attention to the fire Han had gotten going. Evan hadn't explained what would happen once we made the offering to Hecate. We could all die, the goddess herself could show up, the Pit could surround and attack us. This was the big gap in my (admittedly falling apart) plan.

"Everybody ready?" I asked.

Han had the helm on his head, Will was holding the master bolt, and I had the trident in my hands. The plan was use the very weapons the Pit wanted against them, get Alex, and run like the Dickens (whoever they are).

I let out a nervous breath and tossed the jerky in. Hecate was probably very, very mad with me right now. Wouldn't be surprised if I woke up as a girl tomorrow as punishment for blatant disrespect.

The flames engulfed the "offering", but nothing happened.

"…is that it?" Han asked.

As if responding to his words, the small little campfire roared up in to and enormous inferno, flames engulfing him. When they pulled back, Han was gone. Will shouted out for him, but the flames roared out again and then he was gone.

I stabbed the trident into the ground, and water shot up from the ground out towards the flames. But the attack was quickly evaporated, and the flames shot out towards me next. I tried to jump back, but it was too late.

* * *

><p>As I came to, the first thing I was aware of was a weird feeling in my head, like it was heavier than it should have been. I tried to move my hands and realized I couldn't. Confused now, I opened my eyes and found out I was being hung upside down by chains around my ankles, and my arms were shackled behind my back.<p>

Wherever I was, it wasn't in good shape. Ruins were everywhere, in fact the chain suspending me was attached to some. The sky was dark and filled with stormy clouds. In the distance I could just make out the sound of someone straining in effort.

"Oh, you're awake," an annoyed voice greeted.

I spun (way more than I wanted to, I might add) and realized I wasn't the only one hanging around. Right in front of me, hanging and looking upset with me was _Alex_!

"Let me guess," she said. "You're here to rescue me."

"Yeah…" I admitted, feeling stupid now.

"And how's that working out so far?" she asked.

I surveyed my surroundings. Han and Will were both chained and suspended upside down, like us, but they were both out cold. I didn't see the helm or the bolt on them. And I sure as Hades didn't still have the trident.

"Not so well," I admitted grudgingly.

Alex sighed, and resumed tugging and straining at her restraints. I looked up at the ones attachec to my ankles, trying to figure out how to get out. But whoever Houdini's godly parent had been, it wasn't Athena or Poseidon because I could not for the life of me figure out how to get free.

"Alex, can't you just zap fry these things off of us?" I asked.

She stopped struggling and said sarcastically, "Gee, why didn't I think of that. Let's try it now."

The sky rumbled in anger, and a black lightning bolt shot down from the sky and struck my chains. Not only did the chains hold up, but I felt raw voltage course through me. When I finally stopped convulsing, I smelled barbecue.

"Okay, okay…I get it," I groaned. "Any idea where we are?"

"Not a clue," Alex said. "Only that it's not the Pit's usual hidey hole. What happened to helm and all of that other stuff Evan wanted?"

I shrugged, which feels weird upside down. "I don't know. Evan must've grabbed it while we were out."

"Okay, so if he has what he wants, why are we still alive?" Alex asked.

We were interrupted by footsteps approaching, which were quickly revealed to belong to Evan. As usual, he did _not _look happy. But this time, he wasn't even looking smug or confident, just outright annoyed and out of patience.

"Jacob…Jacob…Jacob…" he said my name like it was an insult. "When are you going to _learn_?"

His mechanical hand whirred and clicked, and his fingers were replaced by razor sharp talons. He swiped out at me, and I felt a sting accompanied by two trickles of blood going down my face. I winced, but gave no other response to the hit.

"I said to bring me the bolt, the helm, and the trident," Evan reminded me. "I told you to do it quickly. And I told you if you didn't, and if you tried to pull anything, I would kill your friend, and make you _watch_!"

He shoved me, and I went swinging around like a tetherball. By the time I stabilized and could see again, he was standing in front of Alex, his razor like talons brushing gently over her cheek.

"You wouldn't want me to do that, would you Jake?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, my heart rate climbing the longer those talons lingered on Alex's face. "We got all of those, we had them and you took them from us while we were out."

"If I had, I would be smiling," Evan told me. He lashed out again, and a line of red appeared on Alex's face, running from just beneath the earlobe and ending at the base of her jaw. "I'm not smiling. You didn't do as instructed Jacob…"

"What?" I asked, confused now. "No, no! We went to Olympus, we stole them, we had them when we were knocked out…"

"Then where are they? Hm?" Evan asked. "Did they just _magically _disappear?"

"I don't know where they are," I insisted desperately.

"Well that's too bad then," Evan said, and a grim look spread onto his face. He turned to Alex, and I had to look away. I heard a cry of pain from her and winced. Then my gaze fell on Han, and more specifically the hat he was wearing. I don't remember him wearing that before we got knocked out…

"Wait!" I shouted. "Wait!"

Evan stopped and turned back to me. I caught a look at Alex, who now had blood running down her face. Still, she didn't look scared or in pain. She gave Evan a valiant glare, defiant to the end.

"Han," I told Evan. "Han wasn't wearing a hat when we were knocked out."

Evan raised an eyebrow, and his mechanical hand shifted the talons back into ordinary metal fingers. He walked to Han, who was still out cold hanging from his own chains. Evan removed the hat, and before everyone's eyes it changed back into the Helm of Darkness.

"Of course…disguised to avoid detection…" Evan said. "They're hiding on you."

I scanned over my own body, and even though I tried to stop myself, I found myself starring just a little longer than I should at a black ballpoint pen sticking out of my pocket. Miz was sliver, not black..

"Ah, there we go," Evan said. He walked over, plucked the pen from my pocket, and removed the cap. It transformed into Poseidon's trident. If I wasn't already hanging upside down, I would have hung my head.

"Alright, one more to go," Evan said, a smile returning to his face as he strode over to Will. "Well Jake? Notice anything different about Will? Something he wasn't wearing before?"

Alex shot me a look that said _Don't do it_. I nodded. I turned back to Evan, my face blank and my mouth shut. Evan waited a few more seconds to see if I would give in and tell him that Will didn't wear watches, and he had one on now. But I didn't, and Evan grew impatient.

"So that's how you want to play it huh?" he walked back towards me.

"Do your worst," I challenged him.

He walked right on past me, headed for Alex. He looked over his shoulder back at me and gave a wicked grin. "Oh, I intend to."

"No!" the shout was out before I could stop it.

Evan just laughed as he stalked forward. Alex steeled her gaze, unafraid. "Go ahead tough guy. Impress me."

"Gladly."

Alex grunted as she took a punch to the gut. I winced, but this time I couldn't look away. My gaze was glued to Alex as she took hit after hit. Midway through, our gazes locked and she gave me a pleading look. It wasn't a plead for me to stop this though. Her face clearly said _No matter what happens, don't tell him anything._

Evan decided more drastic measures were in order. "Still don't want to talk yet Jake?" His fingers reverted back into talon mode. A chill ran up my spine, already knowing this couldn't end well. He traced his hand across Alex's face menacingly, making sure I was watching. "I wonder where I should start…"

"Jacob, don't—" Alex tried to warn.

But her sentence gave way to a cry of pain as four tears ripped open in the stomach of her shirt, accompanied by lines of blood and the sound of fabric tearing. Another swipe, another four cuts, another cry of pain. I couldn't take it, and yet I couldn't look away. During a brief respite, Alex and I once again locked eyes. Her face was losing strength now, losing hope.

_See you in Elysium,_ she mouthed. I felt tears well up in my eyes. Another cry of pain escaped her lips. Alex was stronger than anyone could have imagined. She didn't beg for mercy, didn't cry, she just braced for the slice, gave a scream, and braced for the next one. She even managed to spit in Evan's face once.

But I wasn't as strong as she was. "Stop!" I shouted. Evan didn't listen just lashed out again, harder this time. "Stop!" I repeated.

"Stop!" I yelled again. Finally, Evan turned his attention away from Alex. I closed my eyes in shame as I said, "His watch. Will wasn't wearing a watch."

"See?" Evan taunted. "Was that so hard?"

He ripped of Wills watch, and it went ramrod straight before turning into the master bolt. That did it. Evan had everything he'd wanted out of me.

Evan grinned as he admired the master bolt in his hands. It crackled and sparked occasionally, as if nervous of what Evan intended to use it for. Alex, badly wounded and weak, hung motionlessly. I couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. It didn't matter really, considering we'd all be dead in a few seconds anyway.

But Evan's back was turned to me. An idea worked its way into my head, one so crazy it just might work. There was still a chance that Evan would lose this round.

I tried to bring my hands to one side, twisting and turning while I worked my fingers into my pocket. I dug as deep in as I could until my fingertips just barely brushed something that I could only hope was a pen. Evan was collecting all the symbols of power under one arm now, so I had to work fast. I pulled the pen out and worked it into my hands. They slipped back behind my back, still shackled together. I had one shot at this, so I hope I had this thing pointed in the right direction.

Letting out a nervous breath, I clicked Miz to life.

The shackles holding my wrists together were sliced away, and my hands were free. Getting a tight grip on Miz, I sliced my legs free and fell to the floor just as Evan turned around in confusion.

_Wait, is he holding what I think he's holding?_ Miz asked.

I rolled to one side, and a lightning bolt struck where I had been a second before.

_That's a yes. You're screwed._

"Not helping!" I retorted, and jumped back to avoid another bolt.

Evan took aim again. "This mountain is going to be your grave Jacob. The power of the Big Three is at my fingertips!"

"Keep telling yourself that," I shot back. I dove, avoiding another shot.

"Jacob, get me down from here!" a female voice shouted.

I spun around. "Alex?"

_Watch your back!_ Miz warned too late.

A lightning bolt struck me dead in the back, and I fell to the floor. Miz clattered out of reach, and by the time I rolled onto my back Evan was standing over me with the lightning bolt aimed at my face. I groaned at my own stupidity.

"Well, it was a nice effort," Evan consoled as the bolt charged up what was sure to be a lethal shot.

But then, the tables turned. A black lightning bolt shot down from the sky, and it struck the master bolt itself. In response, the master bolt crackled angrily with black and blue lightning, firing off bolts in every direction. One hit Alex's chains, and she fell to the floor. Another hit Evan, knocking him back.

I jumped back up to my feet and ran to Alex, scooping up Miz along the way. Her hands were still secured behind her back, and she was still pretty much helpless until that was fixed.

"Hold still," I ordered, and sliced her hands free. She rubbed her wrists and nodded her thanks, but she was shaky and looked pale. I remembered her wounds, and a quick look only proved they were still bleeding.

"Stay down," was my next instruction for her. Before I jumped back into the fight with Evan though, I reached into my pocket and dug out a black lightning bolt necklace. "This belongs to you."

"Thanks," she said, her voice growing weak.

Before I could say "You're welcome, something I couldn't see hit me in the chest and I went flying backward, landing on my back and kicking up dirt.

Evan materialized out of thin air, the Helm on his head and the trident in his hands. He vanished just as quickly as he'd shown up though, leaving me alone. I shook my head to clear it and rose to my feet. The Helm could turn its wearer into darkness, make them intangible, it could radiate fear powerful enough to drive a victim insane. Han had only been able to disappear with it, and the same went for my. But if Evan could somehow work it better than we could…

"Where am I?" a voice seemed to whisper.

"Over here…"

"Keep looking…"

The voices echoed in my head, trying to confuse me. It had to be Evan. He had to be—

Another impact knocked me down again, my face planting right next to the master bolt. I groaned, but before I could stand Evan grabbed me, rolled me onto my back, and angled the center tip of the trident at my throat.

I felt wave after wave of fear and anxiety wash over me as I stared into Evan's eyes. He gave me a devilish grin as he pushed the trident tip against my flesh.

"Scared yet?" he cackled.

_C'mon kid. It's the Helm, you have to fight it._

"I…I can't…" I stammered. At the moment, all I wanted to do was run to a corner and curl up in a little ball.

_Yes you can damn it! You beat this guy when you were ten! What's there to be afraid of?_

"How about now?" Evan asked.

I grabbed the trident, feeling my confidence return and the fear ebb away. "No. Just pissed."

Water flowed freely from the trident, splashing over me and giving me a renewed burst of strength. The cuts Evan had given me during interrogation vanished, taking their pain with them. I managed to shoved Evan off of me and yank the trident out of his hands at the same time.

He staggered back, and I stood up with Poseidon's weapon of choice in my hands.

_Outdone by an over glorified spear, _Miz sighed. _That's just great…_

I threw the trident forward, and it knocked the Helm right off of Evan's head before returning to me. Evan wisely back up a few feet.

"Well Jacob I'm impressed," Evan admitted. "You managed to turn the tide back in your favor. My turn to do the same."

A another sank into the ground directly in between my feet. As I watched, seven archers emerged from surrounding ruins and surrounded me, all with arrows notched and ready to fire.

"You can't beat all of them Jacob, not even with the trident," Evan told me.

I couldn't help but smile. Time for that crazy idea of mine to potentially pay off. "That's where you've misread me Evan," I told him, and his friends. "I don't have to beat you."

I aimed the trident at the sky and fired off a geyser of water that shot straight up into the clouds. The sky responded angrily with thunder and rain. Instantly in response, three arrows embedded themselves in me, and I went down bleeding. Still, despite the pain, I forced a smile.

"Don't think the gods…take to kindly…to thievery..." I said through clenched teeth.

Evan realized what I meant by that. "Move! Grab the weapons and clear out before—"

"WHO DARES WIELD THE TRIDENT?" a very loud, very angry voice demanded.

There was a brilliant flash of light, bright enough to blind me even though I looked away. And when my eyes readjusted, standing towering over Evan and his small band off allies was Poseidon himself. He surveyed the situation, trying to figure out what was going on.

"The Pit! They stole the symbols of power from the Big Three!" I shouted as loud as I could.

Normally, gods aren't supposed to directly interfere unless they are challenged. Good thing stealing from them counts as challenging them.

"Run for it!" Evan ordered.

Poseidon stretched out his hand, and the trident flew out into his hand, growing back to its much larger size. I smiled as Poseidon fired off a blast and bodies went flying. Game set and match. But, I was still losing blood from the arrow wounds, one of which were even jutting out of my stomach. I blacked out.

* * *

><p>I woke up to see a woman, tall and young. She had blonde hair, grey eyes, she was dressed in a white blouse and blue jeans, and a bronze knife hung from her belt. On her finger was a small ring, a wedding ring.<p>

"Mom?" I asked.

Annabeth Jackson smiled down at me, planting a reassuring kiss on my forehead. "Welcome back sweety."

I looked around, realizing I was in the Big House back at camp. My dad was standing off to one side, looking at me with pride. "Did you know you talk in your sleep? A lot?" he asked.

"Oh Percy, leave him alone," my mom scolded. "You drool."

"I do not…anymore," he defended.

I laughed, glad to see them and glad to be alive. I sat up, feeling a little sore in my stomach. My parents watched as I sat up on the couch I'd been lying in.

"How long was I out?" I asked them.

"Not long," my dad said. "That is if you don't count three days as a long."

"Three days?" I asked in disbelief.

"In and out of consciousness," my mother explained as she sat down next to me. She even ruffled my hair before I indignantly begged her to stop. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," I said, getting up.

"You sure?" she asked. "You don't want to rest a little longer?"

"I'm fine Mom!" I insisted, almost laughing. Dad was. Mom rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, annoyed with both of us.

"Jackson men, all the same…" she muttered, but a smile was on her face.

"And what is wrong with that?" Dad joked. "Great fighters, luck with the ladies…"

"And oh so humble," Mom interrupted. "Seaweed Brain."

Dad laughed at his old nickname, and the look in both of their eyes told me it was probably in everyone's best interest if I left the room. Just for a little bit.

"Well, I guess I'll catch you guys later…" I said awkwardly, heading for the door. My Dad snapped out of his trance just long enough to tell me something.

"Before I forget, there's someone else who's probably going to want to talk to you," he said. "Now that you're awake."

"Kay thanks!" I said, leaving in a hurry just as Mom pulled Dad onto the couch. I shuddered as I left the Big House. Evan after "the talk", it was still incomprehensible to think of Mom and Dad…nevermind, I can't even think about it. It's just…wrong.

* * *

><p>I settled into a relaxed stroll across camp, getting reacquainted with walking. I still couldn't believe we'd done it. I was here, at camp, <em>alive<em>. Now though, I had to make sure everyone else shared that fate.

I found Han practicing lethal goat kick maneuvers on practice dummies. He was making hilarious ninja goat noises, which sounded like someone like someone was auto tuning the sound of a dishwasher. Will was alive too, I found him…well, I can't tell you what I found him doing, because if Ares cabin ever gets a hold of this, they'll go after him.

I was just walking along, and happened to be passing underneath the shade of a tree when someone tackled me from behind.

My first thought was _Not again…_ But then laughter reached my ears as I and my "opponent" fell to the ground.

"Shadow travel is cheating," I complained.

"I win again," Alex said simply, getting up off of me and helping me up.

I dusted myself off. "So I see you're still alive too."

"Well don't sound so excited," she taunted. Then she punched me in the arm, hard.

"Ow!" I whined, rubbing the spot where she'd hit me. "What was that for?"

"_That _was for coming after me and then almost dying," she scolded. I opened my mouth to defend my actions, but she silenced me with a kiss on the cheek. "And _that _was for saving my life…"

I cleared my throat and tried (in vain) to fight the blush creeping over my face. "Well…I…uh…"

She laughed, and I gave up trying to form a sentence. She was alive, I was alive, everyone was alive. The Pit had lost, and once again things were looking up. Well, they were, until I heard someone call out in the distance.

"Hey! What's Argus doing in the stables?"

Awww…Styx.

_**Alex: For the record, I could've gotten out of there on my own at any time.**_

_**Rae: Aww kiss on the cheek! Looks like you really DID have first dibs on him, Alex.**_

_**Alex: Shut up! It was just a friendly— argh! Nevermind…**_


	7. Interview: Roxanne

_**003: Ow. Ow. Ow…**_

_**002: Don't be such a baby.**_

_**1136: This from the grown woman who screamed 'Mommy' when those things showed up?**_

_**003: Oh hey guys. I know it's been a century and a half since my last update…but I have a good excuse… It's all 1136's fault.**_

_**1136: Say what?**_

Henry walked back in, quieter than anyone in the room ever remembered him being. Well, except maybe that one time he'd been bitten by a snake and passed out after the venom got into his system, but that doesn't exactly count.

He let out a heavy sigh before plopping down on the couch. Jacob gave a confused look. This wasn't the Henry they were used to. This was like, his mirror opposite.

"Everything okay?" Tony dared to ask.

"I don't want to talk about it," Henry stated flatly.

Everyone wore looks of concern and confusion. Everyone that is, except for Roxanne. Well, and Miz, but he doesn't have a face. While everyone else shot pity in Henry's direction, Roxanne just shook her head in disappointment. She walked over to him, calm and decisive, and smacked him across the face.

"Ow!" Henry cried. "What was that for?"

"Guess what Kelp Head?" Roxanne said, sounding almost angry. "The past isn't going to change no matter how hard you try to ignore it. Suck it up, move on, and quit mopping around like a gods damned six year old!"

With the exception of Roxanne and Henry (And again, Miz), everyone's jaw dropped. Henry's face was one of shock, then confusion, and then finally he gave a weak smile. In a low whisper that only Roxanne could hear, he uttered, "Thanks."

"Barnacle Brain," Roxanne insulted. Henry didn't seem to notice.

"…will someone please explain what just happened?" Rae asked. Roxanne gave her a glare, and she quieted down.

"So," Roxanne asked, changing the subject. "Has anyone found a way out of here yet?"

"We still don't know where we _are_," Jacob told her. "003's the only one who's been able to open that door, the window's indestructible, and every time one of us tries to use our powers…"

Jacob looked to the others, prompting one of them to serve as an example. There were several head shakes, others began idly whistling and casually avoiding eye contact.

Tony sighed and demonstrated. The sky outside briefly rumbled with thunder, and then suddenly a lightning bolt shot down from the ceiling fan and hit the son of Zeus square in the forehead. Tony fell to the floor, groaning but otherwise unharmed.

"I swear, the first chance I get," Tony said, "I'm going to take 003's face and—"

"Do what?" a cheery voice asked.

Everyone in the room gasped and scrambled back onto the couch at the sound of 003's voice. The writer chuckled as he shut the door behind him. "Hey guys, how's it going in here?"

"Terrible," Will stated.

"Stupid," Roxanne added.

"Boring," Tony finished.

"Glad to hear it," 003 said with a smile. "Henry, you're looking a lot better."

"Huh?" Henry asked. He'd been too busy admiring the desk lamp to pay much attention. And before he could even try to remember what 003 was talking about, his full attention became honed in on a stain on the couch.

"Nevermind," 003 sighed. "Anyway, Roxanne, you're up next."

"Go stab yourself," Roxanne offered up.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way…" 003 warned. He gestured his head towards Henry. Roxanne looked between the son of Poseidon and 003, groaned, and got up to follow the lunatic out.

* * *

><p>003 ducked behind his desk as the chair thrown by Roxanne shattered against the wall. She let out a cry of rage and yanked the desk away, revealing the cowering agent. She probably would've pounded his face in too, but he whistled, and a tranquilizer dart flew out of a wall and caught her in the neck.<p>

Her vision went fuzzy and her stance became wobbly. "My Mom was such a bit…" She collapsed, and 003 breathed a sigh of relief.

Roxanne woke up restrained in her chair, 003 sitting behind a sheet of bullet proof glass in front of her. She struggled, but could neither break or wriggle free of her bonds. 003 made sure she was secure before stepping out from behind his protective barrier.

"Hey Roxanne, how's it going?" 003 greeted

"I will stab you in the throat," she promised in response.

003 nodded. "Good to know. So I take it you're ready to answer the burning questions of the readers?"

"Can I say no?" Roxanne asked.

"You can try," 003 told her, a hint of warning in his voice.

Roxanne sighed. "Fine. Let's just get this over with. But for the record, I still don't believe any of this fiction author crap you're trying to sell."

003 ignored her lack of belief in him and pulled an opened envelope out of thin air. He pulled out its contents, a single page letter, read them, and tossed it aside. "Alright, we've got multiple people asking, do you like Henry?"

Roxanne gave 003 a weird look. "Define like."

"The way he likes you?" 003 said, taking a shot in the dark. Roxanne facepalmed, cursed under her breath, and let out a frustrated sigh.

"No."

"As a friend?"

"No."

"Acquaintance?"

"Not happening."

It was 003's turn to facepalm. "Well, enough not to kill him?"

Roxanne had to think that one over. It took her a good five minutes to eventually come to the conclusion of, "As long as he doesn't try to 'make a move' like he did back in Orgeon, I think I can stand him for the sake of the war effort."

"Well that's a start…I suppose," 003 said. Out of all the girls at camp (BEFORE they'd all gotten killed) Henry had fallen for this one? Poor him.

"Next?" Roxanne asked, eager to get this done and over with.

"So, why do you hate Henry so much anyway?" 003 asked next. "I mean, he's a nice guy, really, what's not to like?"

"Besides the fact that he refuses to wear a shirt during non combat?" Roxanne asked, annoyed. "It's because he's denser than a slab of concrete, that's why! I mean seriously, am I the _only _one who gets annoyed when he forgets an entire conversation because an ice cream truck passes by? You can't keep his attention for five straight seconds."

"So you wish he would pay more attention to you?" 003 asked, twisting the question to lure her into a trap.

"Yes!" Roxanne said exasperated. "Wait, what? No I wish he'd pay more attention in general. And why is he always flirting with me? Seriously, how many times do I have to hit the kid with his own weapon before he gets it? And he always does it in front of everyone. Everytime, I have to kick his butt, then Tony's butt because he'll make some stupid joke, then Will's butt because he'll be laughing…you see what I mean?"

"Yes," 003 said. "Every time Henry flirts with you, you end up with a lot of butts to deal with."

Roxanne glared at him. "You're sick…"

"Just working with what you give me here," 003 explained.

"Can I leave now?" Roxanne asked.

"So, I caught that little uh…pep talk you gave Henry earlier," 003 told her. "So, that was you're violent version of sympathy I'm guessing?"

Roxanne sent her customary glare, and 003 had long since gotten tired of writing the word glare (And when dealing with Roxanne, it always came up at least thrice.), so with a snap of the author's fingers Roxanne's expression became a forced smile. But even smiling, she clearly did not look happy about it.

"I don't feel sorry for people," Roxanne explained. "Least of all Henry. That was me getting mad at him for mopping around, not me feeling bad for him. You either deal or die."

"And you didn't want him to die?" 003 teased. "How sweet of you."

"I never said that!" Roxanne said with a [NOT GLARE].

"You didn't have too!" 003 laughed. "Okay moving on…if you and Henry were stuck on an island…"

"Are all of these questions about Henry?" Roxanne demanded.

"Hey, it's the plot device I gave you, so you're going to have to work with it," 003 consoled. "But fine, let me find one that isn't Henry related…"

003 pulled out a stack of envelopes, and began flipping through them.

"Let's see here…" he said, going through them one by one. "Henry, Henry, Henry, Henry, Red Lobster coupon, Henry, Henry, Henry, death threat from the Pope…, Henry, Henry, Henry…sheesh. Oh wait, found one!"

Roxanne waited impatiently as 003 dug the single envelope out of the pile of other Henry related fan mail. "Alright Roxanne, what's your favorite weapon to use?"

Roxanne got an evil glint in her eye and a genuine smile spread over her face. "Okay, let me start off by saying whoever thought diamonds are a girl's best friend was a dumbass. If it can kill, I've either used it or plan to."

"If we're talking strictly what we had in the camp armory, these Lakonia short swords won hands down. It's perfect for close quarters, which is where I like to fight. Light enough to use two without any decrease in power or mobility. You could stab, slash, and do just about anything else with those," she said.

"I traded up for swords that were a little bigger for a while, but I still prefer the short ones. A shame I haven't been able to find one since," Roxanne said dejectedly. "Anyway though, if we're talking all the modern firearms I can get my hands on now that we're leading the mortals...have you ever used a minigun?"

The daughter of Ares shivered at the mere thought of it. "Ares above, that thing is a universal death bringer! I tell ya, I would _love _to take one of those and shove it up Uranos's—"

"Roxanne! This story is rated T!" 003 scolded. "Out of those two, which would you want more?"

Roxanne didn't have to think long. "Definitely sword. A sword can't run out of ammo, a sword won't jam, and as much as I like throwing fifty rounds a second in the face of Embers, I still like getting up close and personal with whatever it is I'm trying to kill. Sword all the way."

"Alright, thank you Roxanne, you may leave at your earliest convenience," 003 told her. She was gone before he finished the sentence.

_**003: Well, here's the bad news everybody. 1136 screwed up the time travel suit, and I got separated into two parts. There's me, the time traveling secret agent who we all know and love…and then there's this kid.**_

_**[CENSORED]: Hi…**_

_**003: Yeah, he got the creative writing genius out of the two of us. And since he's in high school...**_

_**[CENSORED]: Updates are coming much slower. Again, blame 1136 for messing with the— what was it again? **_

_**003: How can this kid possibly be part of me… T_T**_


	8. Bridges Must Break: Prologue

_**003: All former Project Phoenix Agents currently employed by Freelance Fighter Inc.—**_

_**[CENSORED]: And me.**_

_**003: —would like to make it clear that any and all references to lesser pop culture icons, including superheroes, celebrities, ex-presidents, deceased dictators, and/or his Excellency the Pope and opinions that may be expressed about them to reflect the current business standing of FF Inc. and their partners, but do not accurately express the opinions of individual employees.**_

_**[CENSORED]: In English, he basically just explained that we think Superman is an overrated Gary Stu. Batman FTW!**_

It was 7:13. Maya Hudson and her family of four were stuck in traffic over the Golden Gate Bridge, going to visit relatives in San Francisco. Little Bobby was crying in his car seat because his big sister Suzie had stolen his Superman sippy cup. Maya's husband was too busy driving (or rather, parking while keeping the car in drive) to do anything, so it was up to her to get the kids to quiet down.

Or in this case, die trying. Suzie continued to withhold her brother's cup despite tear-laden begging and stern warnings alike. Finally, the stressed out mother gave up negotiations and yanked the cup from her daughter's hand and forcefully handed it back to Bobby.

Almost instantly, Bobby stopped crying and resumed drinking orange juice. Suzie crossed her arms, huffed, and gave her best pout, but Maya didn't care. The car was peaceful again, her kids were done fighting, and now if she could only just ignore the constant honking of surrounding cars and various other annoyances related to being caught in traffic, she would be fine.

But luck was not on Maya side that day, and nor would it be for the rest of her life. The changes at first were completely imperceptible as the waves far below grew just a little bit choppier. Waves crashed a little harder, rose a little higher, roared a little louder.

Down below, boats continued to pass underneath the bridge without noticing much, except for an isolated boat or two rocking back and forth more than usual, almost as if they'd brushed against something.

Then, they rose up from the surface. They were monstrous, ten feet wide and so long that as they rose up there appeared to be no end to them. Tentacles, massive and barnacle coated, seaweed clinging to them, with suction cups the size of serving platters. There were even a few unlucky shellfish falling off the massive appendages as they rose up from the depths.

People below the bridge, and those who were far enough at the ends were able to see the large, squid like tentacles rise up towards the center of the mighty suspension bridge. Those who saw it had mixed reactions. Some gaped, awed into silence by the sheer size of the things. Some gasped in disbelief. A few screamed, but not to many. Yet.

Mortals are naturally curious creatures. That was why when the tentacles began to rise high above the roads of the bridge, many people's initial reaction was not _Holy crap, run!_, but rather _What in the heck is that?_

"Mom, I'm bored!" Suzie complained.

Maya felt her temple throb in anger. That was the last straw. That was the last, annoying comment she would stand for the duration of this trip. Maya whipped around in her seat, intent on scolding her daughter, maybe even yelling.

But then Maya saw them to. There were six of them, massive and towering high above the bridge. They looked like squid tentacles, but modern science had proven beyond doubt no squid grew that big. And science was never wrong. Right?

Whether or not wasn't too relevant, especially as the behemoth tentacles slowly began to fall back down, straight towards the bridge. That was when the people of the bridge, including Maya, Suzie, and Bobby, started screaming. Maya's husband let a curse word spout out, most likely one Bobby would end up using in the near future.

The tentacles hit hard against the bridge cables, and immediately the strain of metal could be heard. Creaking, groaning, and other very un-encouraging noises sounded as the bridged rocked and bucked under the weight and strength.

Cars were tipped, alarms set off, some more sensitive airbags deployed across the bridge as it was violently shaken about. Slowly, the tentacles began to pull away from the bridge cables, slipping back into the surf from whence they came, leaving behind panicked and confused masses and very mild damage.

Maya was about to breathe a sigh of relief, when faster than she would have thought possible the towering aquatic limbs shot back up and then came crashing down. Several secondary cables violently snapped and lashed out, some of them cleaving straight through cars.

Two of the tentacles slammed down against the road of the bridge itself, crushing anything that was directly underneath it. The suction cups on the tentacles latched on to anything that was caught but not totally flattened, including the Hudson family car.

Bobby was crying again, his sippie cup on the car floor now. Maya was dazed, the tentacle strike had flattened the front end of the car. Her husband was unconscious, knocked out by the impact of thousands of pounds of flesh striking their hood.

"Mom?" Suzie squeaked out nervously.

"S-suzie…" Maya said, struggling to focus. "Suzie get…get out of the car…."

But the mother's words were mumbled and slurred, impossible for the young girl to understand. The tentacle began to pull up and away, lifting up the car with it. That was when Suzie started screaming, and Maya's adrenaline brought her back to full alert.

"Suzie! Get out of the car! Get out of the car now!" Maya yelled as she unbuckled her own seatbelt.

Suzie frantically grabbed her seatbelt and disengaged it, freeing her. Without thinking, she popped open her door and scrambled out…only to fall a good twenty feet. She hit the road hard, there was a sickening _snap _and her senses were overloaded with pain.

Through tear filled eyes and pain clouded judgment, little Suzie watched as the car contained her family was lifted high above the bridge along with several others, and then dragged into the ocean below. If she wasn't in so much pain already, she might have screamed out for them, begged them not to leave her alone. As it was, all she could do is cry and writhe in pain, unable to even discern what she'd hurt so badly in her fall.

All around, people were screaming, shouting for help, getting out of their cars and running for their short, unremarkable lives. Several people ran past Suzie, but whether it was because they didn't see her or didn't care, they left her there as they sprinted in the general direction the mob mentality had determined was safe.

Finally unable to bear it, Suzie blacked out.

* * *

><p>"Unbelievable," Evan muttered, shutting off the news. Earlier today, if the reports were to be trusted, there had been a sea monster attack, a massive one, at the Golden Gate Bridge. The death toll had been slowly climbing all evening, and was now hovering around one-hundred and seventeen. That many mortals, dead.<p>

Normally, this would be something to laugh about, maybe even have a drink over. But the Pit had made it their business to control all monster activity, use it to their advantage in the war against Olympus. This sea monster, whatever it was, presented a serious problem. It wasn't under the Pit's control. If it was, Evan wouldn't have been surprised about the attack.

"So what do we do?" Alice asked. "Not to sound afraid, but something that big isn't just going to be coaxed into a cage."

"Us?" Evan asked. "Who says we have to do anything?"

"You've said so yourself, the monsters are our best weapon and our biggest enemy," Alice reminded him. "Unless that thing, whatever it is, is under our control it's as big a threat to us as everyone else. We have to do _something _about it."

Evan shook his head. "Alice, sometimes I worry about how narrow minded you are. Why should we have to do anything about a monster on the loose…when our good friends at Camp Half-Blood will oh so selflessly take care of it for us?"

Alice cocked an eyebrow, intrigued. "What are you saying?"

"We want that monster out of commission because wild cards don't fit in to the plan," Evan stated. "But that thing is putting so many innocents at risk…how could those wanna be heroes possibly turn down the chance?"

"Then it isn't even our problem," Alice said with a smile. "We won't even have to get involved."

"Well…not exactly," Evan admitted. "There's no problem per say…but there is opportunity. Think of it. For something that big and scary, they'll be sending their best. What a shame it would be if say…I don't know…a certain Hybrid was to be lost in the quest to kill a sea monster?"

Alice grinned wickedly now. "You really think they'll send Jackson in for this? He's good yeah, but he's still young."

"I _know _they'll send him," Evan said. "If the sea monster doesn't kill him…I'll be right there waiting to finish the job."

Evan's hand, responding to his bloodthirsty thoughts of vengeance and maiming (Oh, the delicious maiming Jackson would have to endure when Evan got his hands on the little brat.), transformed from its robotic hand configuration, switching to a knife with a curve perfect for slicing.

"Wherever you are Jake, you'd better enjoy yourself. It's going to be your last few days…"

_**Alright, this new chapter is done at last. It is much shorter we know, but think of it as a prologue. And here's a little teaser: Suzie's role in the plot is not complete.**_

_**Next chapter, we switch back to interviews to get an in-depth at the mortal love interest turned Hunter Rae! That's right, submit your questions to Jacob's old flame, and we will see you when [CENSORED] next cranks out a chapter.**_

_**But before I go! Everyone here at FF Inc—**_

_**[CENSORED]: And me!**_

—_**would like to wish Allstar-chicken-suit a happy belated birthday. Your present?...say guys, what did we get her?**_

_**1136: We were supposed to get her something?**_

_**003: Ugh. Nevermind. Sorry Chicken suit.**_


	9. Interview: Rae

Roxanne opened the door back into the room where everyone else was still being kept. She'd barely stepped through when she felt several bodies pile onto her. In blind reaction an instinct, she hit one of her attackers in the face, shoved another against the wall, kneed one in between the legs (the resulting squeal assured her that the target had been male), and judo threw the final one across the room.

The entire skirmish had lasted maybe three seconds at the most, and as Roxanne viewed her would be attackers, she was met with a confusing surprise.

"What the Hades?" she said, perplexed.

Jacob was holding a hand to his eye where Roxanne had clocked him, Will was slumped against the wall, Henry was on the ground clutching his crotch region, and Tony was at the far end of the room. All of them were groaning in pain.

"What was that for?" Roxanne demanded.

"We thought you were 003," Will groaned.

"We were going to rush him and break out," Jacob explained.

"Well then it's a good thing I took the other way in instead," someone in the back of the room said.

Those who hadn't been beaten to a pulp by Roxanne turned to see 003, sitting on the couch like he'd been there all along. Jaws dropped, people groaned, and Han quietly slipped into a closet to avoid being picked next for an interview.

"Is anyone else really freaked out right now?" Rae asked. Surprisingly though, no one spoke up or agreed with her. "Seriously, just me?"

"We live in a world where a god turns people into living barbecue charcoals and uses them as shock troops," Alex reminded her. "How can _anything _creep us out?"

"Yeah but— ugh, I give up," Rae sighed.

003 looked around the room. "Anyone wanna take a quick pot shot at me before I grab the next interviewee?"

A particularly thick hardcover book flew 003's way, but since [CENSORED] had told him beforehand this was going to happen, 003 easily ducked and avoided the book. Roxanne cursed, angry she'd missed. 003 chuckled and got up to leave.

"C'mon Rae, the fans are waiting," 003 told her.

"I have fans?" Rae asked.

"Well…one out of fifty-three," 003 admitted. "Now c'mon, time's a wasting!"

Rae cast a look around. "Wish me luck guys…"

"Break a leg," Alex offered.

"Aw, thanks," Rae beamed.

Alex gave her a flat look. "No, seriously. Snap a bone or something."

Rae gave a glare as she walked out. "You're just jealous."

The door shut behind 003 and Rae. Alex casually leaned back into the couch, a subtle smile on her face. "Not when I've got twenty-six more votes…" she murmured under her breath.

"How many?" Jacob asked, wondering if he'd misheard.

"Hm?" Alex said. Not wanting to hurt the title characters feelings, she evaded the question. "Oh nothing…"

* * *

><p>"So…how does this work exactly?" Rae asked.<p>

"Pretty simple really," 003 assured her, "I ask a question and you just give me an honest answer."

Rae eyed a rope cord handing from the ceiling, its end dangling perfectly within reach of 003's arm. "So, what's the rope for?"

"Huh?" 003 said, as if noticing it for the first time. (After all, it had _clearly _been there the last few chapters…) "Oh that? If you tyr to lie or dodge a question, I pull this rope, which releases a giant hammer that flattens you like a pancake!"

"…oh," Rae said. "That's…great…"

"First question," 003 announced, digging through the bag of mail. "Ah! What's it like being a hunter?"

"Well, it's actually pretty great," Rae said. "Except for, you know, having to watch other girls who practically feel like your sisters suddenly get vaporized or possessed by Urunos. We don't do as many hunting trips as we used to, a lot of times we 'hunt' Embers. But sometimes we still go out, find food for the soldiers or maybe take care of a monster that the demigod commanders can't really be bugged by."

"And the part about not being able to fall for guys?" 003 asked.

"That?" Rae said. "You don't usually notice that too much, especially when you've been out in the woods tracking down a deer for days. There are some moments, some of the newer girls get a little too frisky for comfort when we visit some of the army camps. But we've never had to kick anyone, and after a while you just kind of get used to it. No one's really been at this long enough to openly hate guys, except for Mariah. She's the only real veteran Hunter left."

"Oh…right," 003 said, remembering that the Hunters ranks had been brought to near zero following the Battle of Camp Half-Blood. "So, next question. What's the most difficult monster you've had to kill as a hunter?"

"Oh…" Rae said, her cheeks blushing ever so slightly with embarrassment. "Um, I'm not really proud of this…"

003 pointed to the rope which could release universal truth serum in the form of a giant hammer. Rae got the message. "Back when I was first learning, Mariah took me out on a little expedition to learn the ropes. We started with small, mortal game and worked our way up. But one day, we cornered this hellhound…"

Rae facepalmed at the memory. "It was my fault. I distracted Mariah for a second, half a second…she got knocked out and rookie-me-who-was-still-learning-how-to-use-her-bow had to fight that thing on my own. I lost my bow in under two seconds, and I couldn't get out my hunting knife without risking that thing biting open my throat."

Rae shuddered. "Hardest fight of my life, trying to even unsheathe my knife without getting killed. Seriously, getting the knife out was harder than killing the thing once it was out. But, I finally managed to hold back its jaws with one arm and pulled out the knife with the other. Almost lost my hand, and I still hold my bow funny, but at least I lived."

"That was the toughest monster?" 003 asked in disbelief. "Really?"

"Never had to fight another monster alone, never met anything else that had me so convinced I was going to die," Rae said. "Sure there were other hard fights, like, have you ever tried to decapitate an alligator with a flaming arrow seven times? That's what fighting that one Hydra was like. Not fun. But nothing else ever scared me like that first hellhound."

"I see," 003 said. "Well, the first time is always the hardest…no joke intended there…and now it's awkward…moving on!"

"What were your parents like Rae?" a third voice spoke up.

"Where did you come from?" 003 asked the newcomer.

Thread of the Maze shrugged. "The fourth wall had a hole in it."

003 sighed. This fourth wall breaking was getting carried away very, very quickly. Rae of course, was extremely confused now to boot. "Leave," 003 ordered.

"Fine, yeesh," TOTM muttered. "Killjoy…"

003 shook his head. "Anyway…yeah, let's go with her question. What were your parents like?"

Rae sighed, a sad smile spreading across her features. "They were amazing. Dad was a tv reporter on some network nobody watched, Mom worked from home as a tech consultant. I swear those two were made for each other. When they argued, it end with both of them smiling and laughing, when we ate dinner it was never quiet. I got any advice I could ever need on anything from Mom, she helped me through some rough times. Dad, I could never be sad or mad when he was around. All I could ever do was laugh and be happy.…I loved them."

"But then…" 003 prompted.

"You know the rest of the story. Alex even filled in some details I didn't know one day when the Hunters were providing some support for her and her unit. Gods I miss both of them…" Rae said sadly.

"So…do you blame Jacob for what happened? Or Alex?" 003 asked.

"Of course not," Rae dismissed. "I blame the hellhound. I blame Evan. I blame Urunos and this whole stupid war. But Jake, Alex, even Ellen…no. They did everything they could that day."

"Speaking of Jacob, it took a lot of work to finally win him over," 003 reminded Rae. "But then, you just let him go. Why?"

"Well, it's like I said," Rae said uneasily. "Jacob made me feel safe. But I wanted to make myself feel safe, and that was never going to happen while I stayed with him…"

"Was that the only reason?" 003 asked.

Rae sighed, shaking her head. "No. It's not. I…I saw them. Out by the beach. Maybe it was my imagination, maybe it was Alex getting carried away, but sparks _flew_. If that wasn't a good way to feel like I was stabbed in the back…but at the same time I kind of saw it coming."

"Really?" 003 said.

"Well Alex made it pretty obvious how she felt, even if she didn't want to do anything about it. And Jacob…poor Jacob, me and Alex were practically using him like a tug of war rope those few weeks we were together. I guess I felt like it was for the best if I just let those two sort out their feelings without me getting in the way." Rae explained. "And of course, I did not want to be with a guy who even entertained the idea of cheating on me."

"That makes sense," 003 agreed. "Last question before you go…had a crush on any other guy since Jacob?"

Rae blushed visibly. "What? Absolutely not. And I'm not just saying that because Artemis is always watching…"

003 chuckled. "Of course…"

* * *

><p>"…seriously, how many votes did you get?" Jacob repeated.<p>

"Never you mind," Alex dismissed.

"Oh come on!"

_**Hey, would you look at that. We updated. Up next after this (who knows when that's happening…) Jacob and a select gang of "background" characters are going to take their first shot at the sea monster. Of course, "first shot" implies a very entertaining failure…**_


	10. Bridges Must Break Part 1

_**003: I recommend rereading Evan's last line from two chapters ago before reading this chapter. Enhances the effect. **_

_**[CENSORED]: This chapter brought to you by RoosterTeeth, Hp, Naughty Dog, Kern High School District, and cake. Ah, cake.**_

Jacob's POV

"I am not enjoying myself," I said as Tony gave the arrow another yank.

"Hold still," Tony repeated as he adjusted his grip.

I know you're expecting a full explanation of what exactly is going on here, but I really don't want to talk about it. So I'm just going to give you the short version. Archery practice went really, _really _badly. I'm just lucky the arrow only got lodged in my _pants_.

"You know, I may not be the best at archery," Tony said as he planted a foot on my rear, "but that was the worst shot _ever, _of all time."

"Just get the thing out already," I groaned. Even though that _was _a horrible shot and as soon as Alex found out (And she _would _find out.) she was going to turn my life into a living Hades, I felt a strange sense of pride knowing I was a terrible shot. I'd heard a ton of stories from Mom about how horrible with a bow Dad was, and I guess I was a little happy to be a chip off the old Jackson block.

Well, I was, until Tony finally managed to yank free the arrow…along with the entire seat of my pants. I fell face first into the ground, feeling a very intruding breeze across by boxers. At first there was silence, then as I rolled onto my back, I caught Tony desperately trying to hold in laughter.

"What?" Tony demanded. "It's hilarious!"

"Give me back the rest of my pants!" I shot back, snatching the arrow that was still attached to the scrap of cloth that had once covered my rear flank.

"Aw c'mon, admit it!" Tony said, laughing by now.

"Not going to happen," I said, getting up and dusting myself off.

"Admit it!" he repeated.

"Shut up," I said flatly, walking away.

Tony tried to get his laughter under control, but only succeed in bring it down to a chuckle as he asked, "Where you going?"

"To change pants!" I yelled back.

About ten other people saw me by the time I reached my cabin. Two of them were Ares kids, which is just what I needed. As if they didn't have enough on me after the "garden hose incident". Angry, embarrassed, and grumbling to myself, I dug through my drawers for some fresh pants.

"Jacob…that's an interesting look," the voice of my cabin mate said.

I whirled around to see Alex, and I instantly felt my face heat up and my mind go to static. "Uh, yeah…I uh, there was an arrow and…and…I'm stupid."

Alex looked me over, trying to keep a straight face. But finally, hilarity won out and she broke out into a fit of barely suppressed giggles. She shook her head, smiling.

"Are we one-hundred percent sure you're the prophecy kid?" Alex laughed.

"Oh shut up," I said as I changed into some pants that didn't have any holes. "What are you doing here anyway? I could have sworn you were on stable cleaning duty after what happened last week."

Alex got that look in her eye that usually signaled someone was about to be in big trouble. I didn't like that look very much, because it usually meant _I _was going to be in big trouble.

"Yeah well, I convinced Will to take my shift," she explained.

"How?" I asked. "You know what, never mind. I don't want to know."

"See? You _did _inherit something from your mom after all," Alex teased. "But anyway, I'm _here _for you. Chiron's calling an emergency meeting. Something about a giant monster attack? I stopped paying attention once Chiron asked how I'd finished the stables so quickly."

"Ah," I said. "So I'm going to this meeting alone then?"

"That's right," Alex confirmed. "And meanwhile _I_…am going find something fun to do as far out of Chiron's sight as possible."

Alex ducked into her "dark corner" of the cabin, and she was gone. I shook my head, tossed my destroyed pants onto my bunk, and headed for the Big House. Giant monster attack huh?

* * *

><p>Han had been the one to first bring the news story to Chiron, who was now showing it to the head counselors from each of the cabins. A giant squid, wreaking havoc in the harbor and leaving the Golden Gate Bridge a mess. People were trapped on it, traffic flow across it had ground to a halt, and to top it all off the slimly sea monster was still out there. Ships were capsizing in the harbor right now, reports coming in of smaller boats being snapped in half.<p>

This thing was dangerous, and it had to be taken down. It was also inconceivably bigger than me. Little, young, inexperienced, destined-for-greatness me.

"And that is exactly, I'm afraid, what three campers will be up against," Chiron said, finishing his explanation of the situation.

"Three campers? Are you saying we're just going to give this quest to some random trio and hope for the best?" Grind, head of the Ares cabin asked. "With all due respect sir, that is the dumbest thing you've ever said. You saw that thing, we need to send the best of the best."

"Volunteering for a quest _and _tooting your own horn at the same time," Dax from Athena taunted sarcastically. "Now that is _truly _impressive, Grind."

"You wanna dance Wise Guy?" Grind threatened.

"Only if we're not talking about the tango," Dax replied, gritting his teeth.

"Enough!" Chiron interrupted, cooling the temper of the two rival warriors. "Both of you, control yourselves."

"Obviously we're not just going to send in a couple of rookie seven-year olds," Ellen from Apollo admitted, secretly referring to her younger brothers. "But how exactly do we decide who gets the quest?"

"Not to borrow from Grind's play book," I spoke up, "but I think I should lead this one."

All heads turned towards me, and with good reason. I was only eleven, and I was asking to lead a quest against a giant sea monster. I was by far the youngest out of all the head counselors, and in a place where everyone had an almighty parent, being the son of someone famous really did zero for your rep.

"How about you just leave this one to the grown-ups, okay kid?" Dax offered.

"Hear me out," I insisted. "Who else do we have who's suited to fight in and around the ocean? I'm our best guy for this, and I can handle it."

"Aw, cute," Grind scoffed.

"I think he's got a point, actually," Rick from Zeus spoke up. "Poseidon and I aren't exactly on good terms after what happened last time, Henry's still off in swamps on that quest for Hermes, and Grind, you can't even swim."

"You weren't supposed to tell anyone that!" Grind said in an angry whisper. We all got a laugh a Grind's expense.

"Jacob, are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into?" Ellen from Apollo asked. Ellen was only a year older than me, and spent a lot of her time keeping her two younger brothers in check. She had a tendency to be a little motherly with everyone. "You saw the news feed, right?"

"I saw it," I assured her. "Relax. I can take care of this."

"Is everyone else ignoring what should be obvious?" Chuck from Hephaestus asked. All heads turned toward him, and he shrugged. "It's just, what's happened the last few times we've gone after some rampaging monster?"

"It turned out to be a trap set up by…" Dax began, but he stopped once his brain clicked together the details of what Chuck was trying to say.

"The Pit," I finished. "You're saying the monster's not the only thing we're dealing with, then?"

"It's actually pretty likely, given the circumstances," Dax admitted.

"Well then, I'll just have to deal with them too," I said. "If the Pit is behind this, there's nothing we can do about it."

"You really are set on going aren't you?" Ellen asked.

"Yeah," I said. "I am."

Although, I wasn't really sure why. I could talk all I want, but I had no idea had how to stop this thing. I looked just a little too big be skewered by Miz, although I'm sure he'll protest otherwise as soon as I click him to life. I was putting on a brave face for everyone, but I was growing more and more worried I was in over my head.

"If you're anything like your father, there's little I can do to stop you then," Chiron said. "Jacob Jackson, you will be leading this quest. Best of luck."

"Time for the Oracle, isn't it?" I asked.

"Have fun," Rick offered.

* * *

><p>Dad once told me about how back when he was a camper, the Oracle was some decaying old corpse of an Oracle that had died. I can only imagine how creepy that would have been. Thankfully, since those days we'd gotten a new Oracle, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, an old friend of my Dad's.<p>

I'd never personally gone to see her, but I'd heard from others (Including Mom) that she was pretty cool…until the prophecy came out. Then she could be just as scary as the last Oracle.

Which was why I was still standing uncomfortably outside the entrance to her cave. I wasn't scared, _exactly. _It was just, if so many people got freaked out by prophecies, could I really be able to face one without flipping out?

"Someone out there?" a voice called from inside.

Well, so much for turning around. I swallowed any doubts, and entered the lair of the Oracle.

And I gotta say, it's a lot scarier on the outside. Deep in the hills near the forests of camp, with a purple curtain and torches at the entrance. But inside, it was as decked out as any place could be. I could tell Apollo himself had come up with a lot of it. Towards the back, I was pretty sure I could see a game room, and just one cavern over was a huge home theater system.

Reclining in a purple couch reading a magazine was the Oracle of Delphi, my Dad's unofficial ex, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. When she saw me, she smiled and set down the magazine before getting up to greet me.

"How can I help—" but she stopped mid-sentence, and her gaze locked on me. Her expression changed suddenly, as if something in her mind clicked. "Jacob L. Jackson?"

"Have we met?" I asked.

"It is you!" she said. I was enveloped in a quick hug, which I was too surprised and confused by to return. She ruffled my hair afterward, a massive grin on her face. "Oh, I haven't seen you since you were a toddler! You know, you look just like your mother."

"Uh…thanks?" I asked. You know that awkward feeling you get when a relative you've never met before gets touchy feely and goes on about how they haven't seen you in _x _number of years? Yeah, that's the feeling I had now.

"I'm sorry, it's just so incredible to see you all grown up now," she apologized. "But I guess you didn't come here to catch up, did you?"

I almost felt bad about not visiting except to get a prophecy. Which is weird, because it was the first time I'd ever met Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Even so, I decided to make a mental note to stop by again later. "I got a quest to take care of a really big monster out west."

"Sounds like the exact same kind of trouble your dad used to get into," Dare said with a smile.

A silence settled in on us. "So, now what?" I asked.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare shrugged. "Well, try asking a question about the quest. The spirit of Delphi only seems to come out when you give it a question. By the way, never ask me what time it is."

I gave a light chuckle and tried to think what to ask. "What's going to happen on this quest?" I tried.

Only silence. Rachel looked left and right, as if looking for the spirit of Delphi. Apparently not finding it, she shrugged. "Any other ideas?"

"What is my destiny?" I asked. Still no magical response.

I got a little frustrated. "Well, now what?"

Rachel's eyes flared open, glowing green as a thick fog of Mist rolled out of nowhere, curling around our ankles before quickly spreading to fill every nook and cranny of the cave. It became all I could see, filling my lungs and practically stinging my eyes.

Cold shivers ran down my spine, my heart raced like Hermes on a sugar high, my breathing sounded more like someone who'd ran a marathon in the snow than someone who'd just been standing around. A raspy, chilling voice echoed in my mind, and I could feel its hot breath on my shoulder as if it whispered in my ear.

_As the child foretold in prophecy marches West  
><em>_He faces impossible odds on his first true quest  
><em>_Your enemies watch as your own swords fail you  
><em>_The mortals sacrifice innocence, as the astray one shall do  
><em>_The sacred three is broken again by the headstrong hero  
><em>_As monuments crumble, the sea beast fades from tomorrow_

__And as quickly as the fog of Mist had swept in, it vanished, returning me to the cave with Rachel. She staggered back, and her eyes returned to normal. She looked at me with exhausted eyes and asked. "Get what you need?"

"Y-ye," the words got stuck in my throat. I coughed to clear it before trying again. "Yeah. I-I think so. Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'll be fine. Just…just need to rest a little is all. Good luck Jacob."

I said my goodbyes and left the cave. So that was what getting a prophecy was like. I shuddered at the thought of having to talk to an old, dried out mummy in an attic instead of a nice, living person. The fog, the voice, that feeling of some ancient evil breathing down your neck as it told you in so many different ways that the road ahead was going to be a living Hades…

I tried to occupy my mind with something else and push the memory of that eerie feeling the Oracle visit gave me aside, and I found myself trying to decipher the prophecy. A lot of it sounded like trouble. Mortals sacrificing innocence, impossible odds, monuments crumbling, my own sword failing me…

I took Miz, in pen form, out of my pocket. For all his talk about how much he hated me, he hadn't let me down yet.

I stuffed him back into my pocket and continued the short hike back to the Big House. With nothing else to occupy my ADHD brain except for doubts and questions that couldn't be answered, I was going to be pretty stressed by the time I got back.

* * *

><p>And as it turns out, when you ask a stressed out Hybrid about a prophecy he doesn't want to think about, he gets pretty irritated.<p>

"Looks, it's not really important what she said, what's important is I got my prophecy and I'm ready to go," I repeated.

"If you insist," Ellen said. "So, who are you taking with you?"

I didn't even have to consciously consider it. Alex's name was forming on my lips practically before Ellen could finish her question. But reason kicked in before I could actually say anything. Alex was off who knows where doing who knows what, dodging chores and staying out of sight. She wasn't going to be coming with me this time.

My next thought was Han, the satyr who'd watched over me during my days before camp. But as loyal and awesome a goat as Han was, he was only so good in a fight. And only so good didn't usually survive.

I thought of Henry, but he'd been gone on his own quest along with one of the Hermes kids and Roxanne. As I mentally scrolled through my list of friends, I found that all of them were either a bad choice or busy with something else. Who was I going to take?

Ellen seemed to figure out what I was thinking. "I'll go with you," she volunteered.

"Really?" I asked. Ellen wasn't usually the adventurous type. She spent most of her time taking care of her younger siblings, keeping them safe and out of trouble. She was like a twelve year old mom to them really, and she had a tendency to act like everyone else's mom too as a result.

I always figured Ellen never went on quests because she was afraid of what her brothers would do without her. But here she was, volunteering to back me up against something that could shake one of the world largest suspension bridges.

She nodded. "Really."

I turned to the other cabin leaders present. Grind and Rick both already had their reasons for not being able to go. Dax was a decent guy, a good fighter, but I was smart enough to know two strategists would more than likely clash for the leadership role, something I couldn't let happen if _I _was going to be leading this quest.

"Chuck?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I'll pass."

"You could talk to Tony," Rick suggested. "The squirt's been craving some action lately."

"You really think he'd go for it?" I asked. Rick nodded.

"Try checking the sword arena. The Ares kids are probably using him as a mop again," Rick offered. I nodded my thanks, Chiron called the meeting to an end, and I left with Ellen in tow to look for Tony, the son of Zeus.

* * *

><p>Just like Rick said, we found Tony in the sword arena, where the Ares kids were in fact, almost literally mopping the floor with him. Before you wonder why I'd pick him to help us on a quest when he was getting his butt kicked, you have to put in context who he was getting his butt kicked by, and how many of them there were.<p>

The Ares kids were some of the fiercest fighters at camp. From their youngest (Roxanne) to their oldest (Grind) any one of those seven could tear apart just about anyone. And Tony had somehow, some way, ended up taking on five of them at once.

Tony hit the floor again, tried to get up, and received a spear shaft to the face in return. He hit the floor hard, and when he didn't immediately get back up he got a kick to the ribs. Knowing the Ares kids, it was about to get ugly.

"Hey!" I yelled, but my voice couldn't be heard over the sound of senseless violence. Tony continued to fight in vain against the impossible odds. One of the Ares kids looked like they were about to go for a stab.

A sharp whistle resonated through the air, stopping everyone cold and making my ears ring. I snapped my head in Ellen's direction and sure enough, she had two fingers in her mouth. I nodded my thanks.

"C'mon guys," I said to the Ares kids, "I need him in one piece."

You have to be careful when negotiating with Ares kin. Too submissive, and they'll laugh and punch you in the face. Too demanding, and they'll growl and punch you in the face. Too underhanded…you get the point.

"Take him," one of them spat. "It wasn't even fun anymore."

"We appreciate it," Ellen said, grabbed hold of Tony and dragging him away from them.

"You got lucky this time Tony!" they sneered as Ellen and I half directed, half dragged Tony away.

Tony looked like he was about to say something prideful and stupid, so I slapped my hand over his mouth before he could. Whatever he intended to say to the Ares kids, all that came out was a muffled "Hmf urg nmlhm!"

* * *

><p>"I could've handled that myself," Tony said after we finally let him go.<p>

"Yes, because you were doing so great before we showed up," Ellen said sarcastically.

Tony gave her a sharp glare, which she returned full force. I was really hoping the whole quest wasn't going to be like this. I cleared my throat, cutting their stare-down short.

"So, what's this even about?" Tony asked. "Because if it's not important, then you just forced me to back down from a fight for nothing."

"There's giant sea monster is tearing apart the west coast, and we get to go after it," I summed up. "Are you in, or not?"

I could tell I had Tony's sense of pride and glory hooked. "Did you say giant sea monster?"

_**003: You would not believe how long it took him to come up with a decent prophecy. Also, we're not really sure on the canon-ness of Rachel's cave, but Apollo mentioned it in the The Last Olympian, and we decided to run with it. So regardless of what Rick decides, that cave is now part of the Rise of Urunos Canon.**_

_**There was supposed to be some trio vs. monster action this chapter but…eh, it didn't happen. Sorry.**_

_**Next chapter, we interview Tony and Will (Combined because we all know there's not much for either of them to talk about solo.)**_

_**Yes, this took an eternity and a half to debut, but last school year there were zero updates, so no complaining!**_

_**Oh hey before I forget, anyone have any song suggestions for Jacob's theme song?**_


	11. Bridges Must Break: Part 2

_**Two words: Daddy's home.**_

Alex POV

After a strange series events that I won't write down out of respect to the god who had the misfortune to be involved, I decided to stop trying to avoid Chiron, at least for a while. At any rate, it was almost lunch and I was getting hungry. But as I sat down at the Demigod Table to eat, I immediately noticed a peculiarity.

I was sitting alone. After lunch, and right after hiding underneath the Aphrodite table to avoid being seen by Chiron, I went looking for my missing cabin mate.

"Jacob?" I called out as I looked around in the cabin. No response, and not a prophecy kid in sight. I checked the lake, nada. Sword arena had a few Ares kids, still no Jacob. He wasn't anywhere at camp. I wasn't worried mind you, Jacob couldn't get himself into trouble if he tried when I wasn't with him, but I was definitely confused. It wasn't like him to disappear like this.

I could ask Chiron…but if we was going to catch me in the act of shore evasion sooner rather than later, I'd prefer later. I would have gone to Henry, but he was still off on some grand adventure for Hermes. Tony was nowhere to be found, and Han was sticking way to close to Chiron.

I went through a mental checklist, and anyone who knew Jacob well enough to tell me where he'd gone was unavailable. I even went to Blackjack before I remembered I couldn't speak horse and he could seem to get the hang of English either.

My search carried on through dinner, where again I had to sit alone. Where in Olympus and Hades was Jacob? I mean, I still wasn't worried. This is Jacob, the guy who talks to his sword when he thinks I'm not looking. Like _he _would get into any real trouble. But I was pretty darn annoyed with how impossible he was to find.

I was walking back to the cabin for the night, wondering whether or not he would be there or not, when an arrow shot past, narrowly missing my ear. I whirled around with sword drawn and heartbeat racing to face…Ellen's little brothers?

They had been running towards me, but as soon as they'd seen me they'd stopped dead in their tracks, mouths agape. The twins exchanged a glance, and then attempted to flee in the opposite direction. I glared, put some concentration into it, and a black lightning bolt struck the ground directly in front of them. They stopped running.

"Answers," I said. "Now."

"It was his fault!" the twins said in unison, pointing at each other. "My fault! Yes, yours! Stop that! No you stop it!"

"Hey!" I interrupted. They quit arguing and looked at me. "Try that again. What's going on?"

They explained. Apparently, one had claimed to be a better shot than the other, an argument had ensued, and somehow during said argument they'd wound up fighting over a bow and accidentally let an arrow fly. Kids.

"Where's your sister?" I asked. "I'm sure she'd love to hear about this."

"She on a quest with Jacob and Tony," one of them answered.

Whatever I was about to say got stuck in my throat and hurled out of my mind. Jacob wasn't missing anymore. He was on a quest.

"Right," I said, trying to keep my voice level. "Quest to do what, exactly?"

The twin on the left shrugged. "Something about a sea monster or something? A really big sea monster."

Jacob was on a quest, hunting a giant sea monster, and I wasn't there to protect his over confident butt. Remember how I said I wasn't worried?

I lied.

* * *

><p>Chore evading be damned, I needed to know what was going on, and I needed to know <em>now<em>. So I went straight to the Big House, found Han playing cards with Chiron, grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him to his hooves, and then dragged him outside for some answers.

"Jacob's quest," I said, getting to the point. "Details. Go."

"Too busy ducking out on chores to go to a meeting?" Han asked. The glare I gave him actually made him yelp. "Okay, okay! Yeesh, no need for the death stare."

Han took a deep breath to calm himself and regain his composure before explaining. "There's a giant sea monster that hit the Golden Gate Bridge. Boats are getting attacked, people are trapped, and the Pit's probably involved. Jacob's our best guy with water, and Ellen and Tony both volunteered to go with."

"Why didn't he ask me?" I demanded. What could possibly posses Jacob that would make him think he could go off on some dangerous adventure without me? I'd saved his life enough times to lose count, who else would he partner up with?

"He couldn't find you," Han said with a shrug.

That of course cooled my growing fury pretty quickly. Han was right, in a sense. If Jacob couldn't find me, it would be pretty hard for him to ask me to tag along on a quest. In fact, if it weren't for the obvious fact that it was still totally Jacob's fault, I might even say I was the reason I wasn't backing Jacob up.

But, like I said, it's still Jacob's fault.

And just because Jacob had already chosen his companions and hit the road, did not mean I wasn't going to help out.

"Thanks," I said, turning to go.

"Wait!" Han called as I walked off. "Alex, where are you going?"

"Where do you think?" I asked. I'm sure with as long as he and I had known each other, Han would be able to guess what I was going to do.

"Alex, it's already getting late, at least wait until tomorrow!"

"I'll sleep in San Franscisco!" I called back, finding a nice dark shadow and waltzing right through it.

Golden Gate Bridge, here I come.

_**Alright, this chapter is noticeably shorter, but only because I decided to keep the POVs consistent. In two chapters, I'll pick up with Jacob and his team. But first, in the next update, I'm going to skip right on ahead to Jacob and Alex's interview!**_

_**Yep. Interviewing both of them at once. **_

_**Leave your questions for them in the review, enjoy you day, and try not to pull out all of your hair waiting for Colors of War.**_


	12. Interview: Jacob and Alex

_**I was going to update this story after I drafted up a new Citadel Academy chapter. Then I realized Citadel Academy readers haven't been waiting six months.**_

Agent 003 was walking through the home he shared with his family, looking for his pen. How in the heck was he supposed to record the answers of the next interview without his pen? He knew it wasn't in the office, and besides that room was currently being occupied by the cast of the Rise of Urunos Trilogy. His pen wasn't in the bedroom, the kitchen, the bedroom, the bathroom, the bedroom, the living room, the bedroom—

"Did you check the bedroom?" 1136 asked him as he came back in from checking the front yard.

"Yes!" 003 said angrily.

1136 took offense at the outburst. "Hey, just trying to help, Jerk. What's got you so worked up?"

"Four. Weeks," 003 explained through clenched teeth.

1136 couldn't help it; he chuckled at 003's predicament. "Well if you want to know what I think—"

003 officially lost it. His problem was agonizing, yes, but he could handle it. When [CENSORED] made a crack about it, 003 let it slide because they were technically the same person. But when his _sidekick _mocked him about something as deathly serious as this?

1136 screamed as 003 grabbed him and pinned him against the wall.

"Don't even go there man!" 003 shouted at the boy. "I've seen ultimate euphoria and the lowest pits of hell! You do not _joke _about—"

"Ahem."

003 cooled off instantaneously at the sound of the feminine voice. Both he and the still-pinned-against-a-wall 1136 turned their heads to see Agent 002 standing behind them, twirling a pen between her fingers. 003 stared at his wife in disbelief.

"How did you—"

"I found it in the bedroom," she explained with a half-suppressed laugh.

"Told ya," 1136 muttered. "Now can you please put me down?"

003 uncerimoniously dropped 1136 to the floor and accepted the pen form 002. "I…uh…thanks?"

002 nodded and gave him an affectionate peck on the cheek. "Alright, now get in there and finish the interviews, so they can GET OUT OF OUR HOUSE!"

003 cringed. "Got it," he said quickly, and turned to head for the room where the characters where still being held.

That was when the roof groaned, and two demigods fell through the ceiling accompanied by a segment of the ventilation shaft.

"I told you one at a time was all they could handle," Jacob groaned.

"Then you should have let me go first," Alex told him with a glare. Then they both looked up, and realized they'd landed right smack dab in front of 003.

003 shook his head. "Un-be-lievable," he said, as if he were scolding two children. "Trying to escape through the vents? And just look what you did to the roof? Who do you think has to clean this up?"

"Yeah!" 1136 agreed, before something dawned on him. "Wait a second—"

"Ah, the power of transitions," 003 said with a smile as 1136 collapsed from the laborious task of fixing the ceiling. He turned to Jacob and Alex, who were still wondering how time had passed in the blink of an eye. "Alright you two, let's get this thing wrapped up, pronto!"

And so they found themselves in the interview room, 003 sitting behind his desk, Jacob and Alex each in their own chair, and the customary awkward silence that opened all of these things.

And then 003 dug out the mail bag, which was easily twice the size of the drawer it was stored in. He sifted through its contents, humming to himself as he tossed out any items that didn't make sense. He briefly found Allstar-chicken-suit buried amongst the various letters, bills, and junk ads, changed her name to Gravity. What Gravity, and sent her on her way back to the correct side of the fourth wall.

"Um…" Jacob started to ask.

"Found one!" 003 exclaimed, holding up a letter. "You two ready to be interviewed?"

"We can say no?" Alex asked.

"Nope!" 003 laughed. He paused, noting how far apart Alex and Jacob's chairs were. "You know you guys don't have to sit that far apart, right?"

In sync, they exchanged a look, then turned their attention to the gap between their chairs. When the pair didn't immediately do anything about it. 003 pushed his hands together, and the two chairs scooted closer together. _Much _closer.

"Alright, that's better," 003 said. "Alright, first question…When do you feel most at home? Alex, you first."

Seeing as trying to resist this utter nonsense would be ultimately fruitless, Alex decided to go along with it. She leaned back in her chair, briefly thinking.

"That would be sneaking around the shadows at night. Most days when I'm doing that, it's scouting enemy territory, digging up any information and early warning we can get. But, it brings back memories, back before this war when I could melt in the shadows, lurk around camp and cause all kinds of trouble. I…I miss those days."

Jacob smiled faintly, remembering how many times they'd gotten knee deep in Minotaur shit because of Alex…and how much fun every one of those times were.

"What about you, Jacob?" 003 asked.

"Huh…" he muttered. "It would have to be down by the beach at Camp Half-Blood. I haven't been there in so long but, just being out there watching the waves and enjoying the sun…it makes everything feel alright."

"So you just like to hang around there by yourself?" 003 asked.

"I do know a few spots on that beach that are pretty good for getting some time to yourself," Jacob said. He stole the briefest glance at Alex. "But it's even better when I'm there with friends."

And Alex then had to do her best to hide the light blush that came to her face. Oh yeah, she remembered that one visit to the beach back when the war was still in its infancy. She remembered it in _vividly_.

003 rolled his eyes, sarcastically thanking [CENSORED] for writing that in. Now the fans would want an explanation. And explanation that would require _fluff._

He distracted himself from that horrible thought with the next question. "Okay! If there was never a prophecy, which one of you two would be more likely to end the world?"

"Alex."

"Jacob."

The pair looked at each other in momentary confusion, and then the annoying stereo argument begin.

"Me?"

"Yes you!"

"Stop that!"

003 groaned, and hit his head on the desk. What had he just unleashed? Thankfully though, they soon managed to stop speaking in sync, and the annoying echo was gone.

"Coming from the guy who sank a national landmark," Alex said.

"One!" Jacob reminded her. "_One_. You on the other hand, seem to have full intention of blowing something up every single time you've gone on a quest. _Every_ time. Invariably."

"Oh I see how it is," Alex retorted. "A gas station gets struck by lightning and suddenly I get _no _slack. Most of the things I blow up belong to the bad guys, I'm not doing _that_ much harm."

"You shorted out Seattle's power grid," he brought up.

"You wrecked on of the camp's last vans," she shot back.

"Enough!" 003 screamed. They, thankfully, stopped. "Okay…sorry about that…next question…"

"Describe you ideal guy/girl," 003 said, and both of them very quickly got an embarrassed look on their face.

"Uh…" Alex stammered.

"Well…" Jacob began.

003 groaned. "Truth spell."

"He'd have to decent fighter, I don't want to end up having to rescue someone every time a lost Telkhine comes whining," Alex said.

"Kind, beautiful, intelligent," Jacob began describing.

"I may not be into arrogance, but is a little self-confidence too much to ask?" Alex added.

"Witty, not afraid to take charge, good cook," Jacob continued.

"I guess a year or two in either direction isn't that important," Alex went on. "I mean, it's just a num— good cook?"

Jacob stopped, remembering Alex was right next to him. "Well, yeah, it'd be nice."

"Then I hope you consider micro-wave fish sticks good," Alex told him, and in a tone that said he'd better.

"Gotcha," Jacob said solemnly.

The pair continued on for a bit, until again they accidentally ended up echoing each other's words.

"And about…this high," they said, with Jacob holding his hand up to Alex's height, and Alex holding her hand a couple of inches or so higher than Jacob's.

003 opened up the last letter. "Is it ever embarrassing when people try to ship you two together?"

"Embarrassing?" Alex asked. "I wouldn't say that. Annoying, yes. Unprofessional, yes. But not embarrassing."

"Really?" Jacob asked, surprised. "What about that time when Henry—"

"Do _not_," Alex interrupted him, blushing bright red, "go there. We both agreed that that _never happened_."

Jacob cleared his throat, remembering now. "Oh! Right…uh…yeah, never been embarrassing. Unless you count going to sleep in one tent, and waking up in a diff—"

"Stop talking about it!" Alex yelled. She was still blushing. "I still can't believe he did that. Or that Roxanne helped."

003 chuckled, and with a satisfied smile stuffed the mail bag back into the too small drawer. "Well, thank you two for your time. Now, I believe it's time to get you back where you belong."

The entire crew was standing together in the office they'd occupied the past day and a half, along with 003 and a much younger man named [CENSORED], who [DESCRIPTION ERASED].

"Alright, now when we send you back, it'll be as if you never left Los Angeles," [CENOSROED] explained. "You'll all arrive the instant before we took you, with no memory of _anything_ that happened while you were here."

"We'll forget everything?" Henry asked.

"That is what I said," [CENSORED] confirmed. "Why?"

Henry turned, grabbed Roxanne by the shoulders, and kissed her hard on the mouth. She stood there, at first in shock, and then enraged. She shoved him away and promptly punched him in the face. She then turned her glare to psychotic minor gods who'd kept them prisoner. "Just send us back already."

[CENSORED] nodded to 003, who snapped his fingers. And just like that, a portal opened up just long enough to suck every last OC into it, and then closed up behind them. With them gone at last, a calm silence entered the room.

"Well that was fun," 003 said after a while, and then someone behind them whistled.

[CENSORED] and 003 both spun around to see 1136 with a crazed look in his eye, holding an enormous Time Bazooka. He let out a maniacal laugh and fired it at the agent/author duo, engulfing them both in a powerful blast.

002 entered the room in a flash, staring at the smoking wreck of a room in horror. "WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?"

1136 held up a hand, signaling for 002 to _wait for it_.

The smoke slowly started to clear, and where once there had been two people, there was now only one. 003 rubbed his head, trying to alleviate the monster headache as story idea after story idea flooded back into his brain.

002's jaw dropped. She looked to 1136, silently asking if her husband had indeed been restored into one person. 1136 nodded with a smile, patting the Time Bazooka that had fused the fractured individuals.

002 ran up and enveloped the agent in a hug that would have crushed ribs of lesser men. 003 grunted in surprise, but smiled nonetheless as air was squeezed from his lungs.

_**003: Good to be back.**_


End file.
